United players ‘not in love with goal’, says Mourinho
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom: Jose Mourinho has accused Manchester United of lacking a killer instinct after another week of misfiring performances at Old Trafford, saying players are “not in love with the goal”.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 35, is United’s 27-goal top scorer of which 16 have been in the Premier League. No other United player has managed double figures in the league, with Juan Mata on six, Paul Pogba on four and Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on three each.
Mourinho’s side travel to bottom club Sunderland on Sunday on a 20-match unbeaten run in the Premier League. But 10 of those games have been drawn and seven teams have scored more than their tally of 43 goals this season.
United’s attacking problems were laid bare in this week’s goalless stalemate with West Bromwich Albion and 1-1 draw against Everton.
“We have some players that are not really players in love with the goal,” Mourinho said.
“They are good players and they are creative players, but naturally they’re not the kind of guy that’s a killer.”
Javier Hernandez was sold by Mourinho’s predecessor Louis van Gaal to Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 and the United boss believes the 28-year-old is the kind of cold- blooded forward his team needs.
“The way we dominate opponents in the box at Old Trafford, I think ‘Chicharito’ (Hernandez) would have 20 goals easily, even coming from the bench for the last 10 or 20 minutes,” Mourinho said.
“He’s the guy that when the ball goes here, rebound there, if the goalkeeper saves it, boom – goal, or if the cross is coming, he anticipates the first-post header – goal.
“We create a lot but we don’t score enough goals for the way we play and the teams that come to Old Trafford know that and they defend. Zlatan’s number of goals is a target for every striker. I think for all the others, no one has reached that level.” — AFP
We have some players that are not really players in love with the goal. They are good players and they are creative players, but naturally they’re not the kind of guy that’s a killer. — Jose Mourinho, Manchester United manager