Mourinho brash as Fellaini rescues Manchester United
THE THREETIME EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS SEALED THEIR PLACE IN THE KNOCKOUT STAGES WITH THE 10 WIN
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho boasted about his Champions League record after Marouane Fellaini’s injury time winner fired his side into the last 16 with a 1-0 win over Young Boys at Old Trafford.
The three-time European champions sealed their place in the knockout stages with a slice of fortune when Fellaini controlled the ball with his hand before firing into the far corner, provoking Mourinho to throw a box of water bottles to the ground in a mixture of joy and relief.“For some of my lovers, for those who like stats, 14 seasons in the Champions League, 14 times qualify through the group phases,” said Mourinho on his personal record as boss of Porto, Chelsea and Real Madrid as well as United.
“Never one of my teams stays behind the group phase. The season I didn’t play Champions League, I won the Europa League.”
But there was little for Mourinho to brag about from another laboured performance as United were on the verge of failing to score for a third consecutive European home game for the first time ever.
It could have been even worse for United but for the brilliance of goalkeeper David de Gea, who produced a stunning save from Ulisses Garcia’s deflected effort to deny Young Boys in the secondhalf.
“From my position, David’s save — only one save in the whole game — but it looks a phenomenal save,” said Mourinho.
Mourinho made the bold decision to leave Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku on the bench and Alexis Sanchez out of his squad. Marcus Rashford was given his chance to start as centre-forward, but Mourinho was less than impressed with the 21-year-old just five minutes in when he dinked his finish over the bar with just goalkeeper David von Ballmoos to beat.
“This is the type of game where if you score in the first minute normally you go for a different kind of performance, but it is still very difficult for us to score,” responded Mourinho when asked about his exasperated reaction when Rashford missed.