Mourinho ready to go to work after Watford woe
Allegri stands by Higuain omission
Jose Mourinho says Manchester United’s humiliation at Watford underlines how much work needs to be done to transform his spluttering side into title contenders.
Mourinho’s men crashed to their third successive defeat on Sunday as Watford’s shock 3-1 victory condemned United and their manager to an historically bad day.
It was the first time United had lost to Watford in 30 years and the first occasion Mourinho had been beaten in three consecutive matches since 2002 when he was in charge at Porto.
After defeats against bitter rivals Manchester City in the Premier League and then Feyenoord in the Europa League, all talk of a United Massimiliano Allegri has defended his decision to leave Gonzalo Higuain out of the starting XI as Juventus surprisingly lost 2-1 to Inter on Sunday.
The Argentina international, signed for a club-record fee of 90million from Napoli in July, netted three goals in his first three Serie A appearances for the Bianconeri and started at home to Sassuolo last week.
But he was back on the bench in the Derby d’Italia at San Siro, where the reigning champions gave up the lead to suffer their first defeat of 2016-17.
Allegri was quoted by renaissance has evaporated within the space of eight days.
But Mourinho insists he was already aware of United’s flaws during the three-match winning run that started his Old Trafford reign.
Specifically, he is concerned about the fragile way his players respond to adversity and the defence’s habit of making careless mistakes when they don’t adhere to his instructions.
“We started the season very well with the Community Shield and three victories in a row in the Premier League, the best start that a new manager has had at Manchester United I think,” Mourinho said.
“But was I thinking that my team was ready, perfect, unbeatable? Not at all. Gazzetta dello Sport as justifying his team selection, saying: “Why [did I leave] Higuain out?
“I thought about playing a physical game and I needed him when the match was in progress,” he added, having introduced the former Real Madrid player in the 74th minute.
“I am convinced that the initial squad was right.
“But If I leave out [Mario] Mandzukic, you’ll ask about him.”
Juve, who trail Higuain’s former club Napoli by one point at the top of the Serie A table, are at home to Cagliari on Wednesday.