REDS MARCH ON IN EUROPE
JOSE Mourinho has bizarrely claimed that Manchester United will probably lose to Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Sunday.
The Reds boss has slated the football authorities and TV schedules for forcing United into a punishing fixture programme as they battled on three fronts in the FA Cup, Europa League and to get into the top four in the Premier League.
After playing in Russia last Thursday in the first leg against Rostov the Reds squad returned to travel to London for the FA Cup quarter final tie at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
Chelsea knocked Mourinho’s 10-man side out 1-0 and United then endured a trying journey home by coach on the M6 when their flight from Heathrow failed to turn up and a replacement plane couldn’t be found.
United laboured to a 1-0 success against Rostov and into the final eight but will be back on the road on Saturday to Teesside to play Middlesbrough on Sunday lunchtime.
Mourinho claimed a host of foes were ganging up on United.
“We have lots of enemies. Normally, the enemies should be Rostov but we have a lot of enemies,” he said.
“It was difficult to play Monday night, it was difficult to play Monday night with 10 men, it’s difficult to play now, it’s difficult to play 12 o’clock on Sunday.
“We have a lot of enemies. But the boys were fantastic.
“I can imagine that there some people who might say we should play better, we could play better, that we should score more goals and we shouldn’t have so any difficulties to beat this opponent.
“But the reality is a lot of things are going against us. The boys are amazing boys.
“We will probably lose the game on Sunday. But we will try our best.
“Fatigue has a price. I will remember forever when I spoke to the Uefa delegate in Rostov.
“He told me if any of our players gets injured, the insurance pays so the pitch is not a problem.
“So probably the people who decides we play on the Monday and on Sunday probably thinks the same way, if they are injured they are insured no problem.”