Headed for finals
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MANCHESTER, England — Jose Mourinho said he will unapologetically rest key Manchester United players for the remainder of the Premier League campaign after his Red Devils reached the Europa League final.
United will play Ajax in Stockholm on May 24 after a nervy 1-1 draw at home to Celta Vigo on Thursday, in which centerback Eric Bailly was sent off, earned it a 2-1 aggregate semifinal win.
Dutch side Ajax’s season finishes on Sunday but United still has three league matches to play, and United boss Mourinho said he will have no qualms about keeping players fresh for the trip to Sweden.
The selection policy could possibly incur the wrath of any of Crystal Palace’s relegation rivals, should the Eagles still not be safe from the drop when they travel to United on the last day of the season. Before that, United faces Tottenham and Southampton, both away.
“Obviously now Ajax think about the final,” Mourinho said. “They will have 12 days to prepare and we have three matches to play.
“Hopefully Crystal Palace don’t need the last game, because in the last game I’m going to make a lot of changes and nobody can blame us because we have a final two days later.”
With United struggling to secure a top-four finish, having fallen four points behind fourth-place Manchester City, winning the Europa League realistically looks like its last hope of qualifying for the Champions League.
But Mourinho does not purely to view the final as a means to an end, particularly as United has never won the competition.
“It means an opportunity to win a trophy, the opportunity to be back in the Champions League,” said the Portuguese, who won the UEFA Cup — the precursor to the Europa League — with Porto in 2003.
“It means an opportunity to end the season in the perfect way because the final is the last match of the season.”
Leading 1-0 from last week’s first leg in Vigo, United doubled its advantage in the 17th minute when firstleg match-winner Marcus Rashford crossed for Marouane Fellaini to head home.
But Facundo Roncaglia reduced the aggregate arrears with five minutes left before being sent off after a shoving match with Bailly.
‘Naive’
Celta had United on edge throughout, and had substitute Claudio Beauvue shot from six yards out rather than crossed in stoppage time, the Spaniards might have gone through.
In a post-match television interview, Mourinho said Bailly may have been “naive”, but later claimed not to have seen the incident and did not want to comment on it.
Despite its agonizing exit, Celta coach Eduardo Berizzo said his club would reflect with fondness on its Europa League exploits.
“You learn from defeats and eventually down the line you hope to turn those defeats into victories,” said the 47-year-old former Argentina defender, who played for Celta from 2001 to 2005.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my players. They covered every blade of grass. I’m proud of the connection they made with the fans that traveled all the way from Galicia.
“Every defeat is bitter. But when you look back on it and analyze it, I think it’ll confirm what I’ve thought about my team all season.
“We’ve had a fantastic season. I can’t blame my players in any way. We couldn’t quite turn our dream into reality, but we showed great bravery out there.”
Celta was roared on by around 3,000 traveling fans and Berizzo praised the “huge connection” that exists between players and supporters.
“That identity and that pride has grown recently and we’ve opened a huge hope among the supporters to go onto bigger and better things in the future,” he said.
Mourinho also had kind words for the away fans.
“The fans are fantastic and can be really proud of how their team performed,” said the former Real Madrid coach.
“I felt sorry for them. Knowing the strength of the Galician people, I’m sure they’ll get a great reception from the fans who stayed behind and their families.”