Mourinho not surprised by United’s defeat
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Insipid Red Devils go down to Valencia, miss opportunity to finish as table toppers after Juventus’ shock defeat to Swiss team Young Boys
VALENCIA: Jose Mourinho said ‘nothing surprised; him about Manchester United’s miserable performance against Valencia on Wednesday but dismissed the potential impact of them finishing second in their group.
United were beaten 2-1, a result made all the more disappointing given they could have gone through top of Group H following Juventus’ surprise loss to Young Boys.
Defeat, however, was nothing more than Mourinho’s side deserved, as a line-up that included eight changes and a return for Paul Pogba delivered a sluggish display at Mestalla.
“I didn’t learn anything at all,” Mourinho said.
“Nothing surprised me at all.” United go through as runners-up into Monday’s draw for the last 16, with Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-germain, Porto, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich their potential opponents in the next round.
Finishing first would have earned them a tie against one of Atletico Madrid, Roma, Schalke, Ajax and Lyon.
“I think to qualify in this group is a success, never a failure. To finish second in this group is always a success,” Mourinho said.
“Before the game I told the players if we win and Juve win, we did our job. If we don’t win and Juventus don’t win we can blame ourselves.
“Apart from a couple of clubs that are clearly much better than the others, I don’t think the draw will be significantly different.
“There are teams that finish second that the ones that finish first will not be happy to play against,” he said.
Mourinho also added his team only improved after he made three changes he “didn’t want to make”, as Marcus Rashford, who scored United’s goal, Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young were all introduced in the second half.
Sergio Romero, Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly, Marcos Rojo, Marouane Fellaini, Andreas Pereira, Fred and Pogba were the eight players to come into the starting line-up.
Jones scored an own-goal just
had a chance to top their group, but they produced a lacklustre show against Valencia suffering a 1-2 defeat to qualify in the second place behind Juventus. United manager Jose Mourinho made as many as eight changes at the Mestalla, including a return for Paul Pogba, but they never
from Group H as table toppers but their performance against Young
Boys was quite ordinary. Cristiano Ronaldo also looked out of sorts as he missed several chances throughout the match and hit the post once.
was the hero for Young Boys scoring twice. This was the Italian giant’s first away defeat in a competitive match in over a year. after the break to double Valencia’s lead after Carlos Soler had put the home side ahead in the 17th minute.
Rashford gave United hope with an 87th-minute header but it proved too little too late.
Mourinho said injuries forced him into all his changes, except for the decision to rest David de Gea and Nemanja Matic.
“If I play to win the group, I would have played a similar team,” said Mourinho, who added that Rashford, Lingard and Young will all start against Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday. looked to be in the contest.
augur well for the Red Devils considering they will be playing Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday. The lack of intensity on the field even left Mourinho frustrated who admitted he didn’t learn anything from the game. involved in a real humdinger with their last group-stage match against Ajax ending in a pulsating 3-3 draw. The game also witnessed two red cards.
their group, their below-par performance in the last group match means other teams would fancy their chances against them in the last-16 round.
result of the last group stage came in the form of defending champions Real Madrid receiving a 3-0 hammering from CSKA Moscow at home. This was their biggest-ever home defeat in Europe. Having already qualified for the last-16, the Spanish giants played with a weakened team, but this takes nothing away from the Moscow side.
Gareth Bale at half-time who suffered an ankle injury but managed to play the rest of the game. At the final whistle, fans booed the home team making it a forgettable night for
Santiago Solari.
is the first Manchester United player to score an own goal away from home in a Champions League match since Mark Lynch did so against Deportivo la Coruna in March 2003
team to win both group games against Real since Juventus in 2008-09
has scored in this season’s Champions League — more than any other player and two ahead of Lionel
Messi
first win over Manchester United in a Champions League match in what was the eighth meeting between the two sides (W1 D5 L2) Man City Lyon Shakhtar H’heim Real Madrid 0 Plzen 2 Real Roma Plzen CSKA 64 1 1 6 1 50 6 1 32 603 3 6402 6303 62 1 3 62 1 3 Young Boys 2 Juventus 1 Valencia 2 Man United 1 10 13 18 -8 6 -3 3
CSKA 3 Roma 1 7 12 39 -9 7 -1 7 Juventus 6402 5 12 Man United6 3 1 2 3 10 Valencia 62 2208 Young Boys 6 1 1 4 -8 4
Top-two from each group qualify for Champions League last 16. Third-placed team to enter Europa League round of 32.