Nothing surprising in defeat to Valencia – Mourinho
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’s surprise loss to Young Boys.
Defeat, however, was nothing more than Mourinho’s side deserved, as a lineup 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.
“Before the game I told the players if we win and Juve win, we did our job. If we don’t win and Juve don’t win we can blame ourselves,” he said.
“Apart from a couple of clubs that are clearly much better than the others, I don’t think the draw will be significantly different.”
Mourinho said his team only improved after Marcus Rashford, who scored United’s goal, Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young were all introduced in the second half.