UNITED WILL FIGHT TO THE END – MOURINHO
LUKAKU, LINGARD SINK ALBION AS OLD TRAFFORD MEN REFUSE TO GIVE UP ON THE SEASON
Jose Mourinho vowed Manchester United will fight for the Premier League title until the final game after yesterday’s 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion.
Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard netted firsthalf goals to give United a deserved, if lacklustre, victory at The Hawthorns.
They closed the gap to Premier League leaders Manchester City to 11 points after securing back-to-back wins.
City beat Tottenham 4-1 on Saturday to record a 16th straight league win but United boss Mourinho refused to let them go.
He said: “I know that the questions are always coming in the same direction and I keep saying the same.
“Last match in the Premier League, Watford at Old Trafford, mid-May, and until then every match we go.
“Every match we try to win. If you do that question to us and then you do it to the third and the fourth and to the fifth and to the sixth, probably they disappear. Probably they want to go on holidays.
“We don’t want to go on holidays. We want to play until the last match.”
Mourinho, who confirmed Antonio Valencia suffered a hamstring injury, also dismissed a video of Manchester City’s players chanting – following their win over Spurs – about his side ‘parking the bus’ in a direct jibe to their rivals.
He added: “I didn’t see, I didn’t watch.
“I am not interested in doing that. You are the ones to make your evaluations, your comments. “For me, nothing.” Lukaku nodded in his 15th goal of the season from Marcus Rashford’s cross after 27th minutes before Lingard’s effort deflected off Ahmed Hegazi eight minutes later.
Gareth Barry stabbed in with 13 minutes left, but Albion remain winless in the league in 16 games, with boss Alan Pardew yet to taste victory after four matches in charge of the Baggies.
Barry at least scored the first goal of his reign but the Baggies remain second bottom and two points below the safety line.
Albion’s Jay Rodriguez headed wide late on and Pardew admitted he got his team selection wrong after Wednesday’s 0-0 draw at Liverpool.
He said: “We were disappointed first half and I think I picked the wrong team really. The boys gave me so much at Liverpool.
“Obviously I’m getting to know them but I didn’t think we had the energy in the first half we need against United.
“It was too comfortable for them, we couldn’t get any pressure on them.
“We’ve got a full house here and it was quiet because we’re giving them nothing to get excited about.”