NO KIDDING , JUST SO EASY!
Youngsters shine but miserable Mourinho ignores lap of honour to make a swift exit
JOSE MOURINHO was in no mood to talk up his Manchester United starlets – even though they justified his decision to play them. Josh Harrop marked his United debut with a stunning strike, while fellow youngsters Joel Pereira, Tim Fosu-mensah, Demetri Mitchell, Scott Mctominay and Axel Tuanzebe did themselves justice against Crystal Palace. With an average age of 22, it was the youngest Reds side in Premier League history, but the self-appointed Special One did not stick around to praise them. He chose not to join his players on their lap of honour, heading straight for the tunnel and then to a virtually empty media interview room, where he sat for a few seconds before making a swift exit, leaving Old Trafford 20 minutes after the final whistle. MUTV fared slightly better, snatching 17 seconds of comments in a bizarre interview, in which he said: “Don’t ask me too many things, because now I’m in the final. Let me go home, I’m in a final now. I know my team but let me go.” The United boss is angry about criticism of his decision to give up on securing a top-four finish and focus solely on Wednesday’s Europa League final against Ajax. He used his programme notes to take a swipe at Graeme Souness who, in his role on Sky TV, questioned Mourinho’s approach in recent weeks and claimed his players were exhausted. “I’ve seen in the football media that certain pundits cannot understand why our players are tired,” wrote Mourinho. “A pundit is not honest if they cannot forget their colours or if they try to hide the truth from their audience. “It’s not my fault if their managerial career was very poor.” His post-match behaviour took the focus away from the youngsters who excelled in the absence of first-teamers being rested for the final in Stockholm on which the club’s entire season hangs, with the prize of a Champions League place to the winners. The win and impressive performances by the stand-ins ultimately vindicated Mourinho’s approach to the final league game of the season. But that did not seem to lift the mood of a manager who those seeing him on a daily basis have confided has not cut a happy figure of late. His strategy of pinning all his hopes on Europa League success will be vindicated with a victory on Wednesday which would return United to the Champions League in his debut season. Mourinho has tried to create a siege mentality around his squad in recent weeks, but that will only be deemed successful with a triumph in Stockholm. On the pitch, the emerging players made the most of their opportunity, the pick of them Harrop. He became United’s 100th Premier League scorer with a stunning solo strike after 15 minutes. The 21-year-old, born in Stockport, picked up a sublime pass from Paul Pogba and cut inside, dancing his way across the penalty area before unleashing an unstoppable angled shot. Pogba doubled the lead four minutes later, taking advantage of a slip from Joel Ward to steer the ball under Wayne Hennessey. The £89million world record signing was taken off just before half-time to keep him fresh for Wednesday. The game may have been Wayne Rooney’s farewell, with the striker likely to leave this summer after 13 years. He acknowledged the fans as he left the pitch to a standing ovation in the 87th minute, to be replaced by another rookie in Angel Gomes who, at 16 years and 262 days, became United’s youngest debutant for 64 years.