Manchester United’s Mourinho: This was a game for Fellaini
Manchester United were missing Fellaini for their away game against Stoke at the bet365 stadium and Mourinho rued the absence of the Belgian midfielder.
Marouane Fellaini suffered a knock on international duty and wasn’t part of the squad who travelled to Stoke, much to Mourinho’s dismay. Manchester United drew 2-2 in an exciting game that was filled with plenty of end-to-end action but their manager was upset with just the single point.
More from Red Devil Armada
- Aaron Wan Bissaka out for ‘several weeks’ with injury
- Manchester United break an unwanted record after Brighton loss
- Sofyan Amrabat set to miss game against Brighton
- Preview: Manchester United vs Brighton – What you need to know
- Jadon Sancho set to train away from first team squad
“This was a game for Fellaini and then on the set-pieces we would be more dominant than we were, we didn’t have much time after the 2-1 to kill the game because if we have a little bit more minutes with the result at 2-1 I think they have more pace for us and we kill the game.”, said the former Chelsea manager.
Mourinho then humbly continued, “And then they come back for that compact block and they defended with everything they have, so credit to them.”. The Manchester United boss’s intentions to win was clear as he made 3 attacking substitutions in Mata, Martial and Lingard but it proved to not be enough to get his side the 3 points.
Jose clearly feels that with Fellaini in his side, he may have come away with the win instead. Perhaps the Red Devils could’ve done with the extra height towards the last 10 minutes of the game as the home side stubbornly sat deep to defend their single point. The result still sends the team up to the top of the table but it has ended the club’s 100% start to the season.
Level on points with Manchester City, Mourinho will be hoping to not see more of the same from his Manchester United team when they next play. First however, they’ll have to face off against Basel in the Champions League as the team look to play their first Champions League game under the Portuguese boss.
The former Real Madrid manager already lamented some of his players inexperience in Europe’s elite competition but added it was an opportunity to show what they’re made of as well as to give them valuable game time, testing themselves against the best on the continent. Should the Red Devils defend the way they did against Stoke, they may be in for more than they’re asking for.
Next: Game Preview: Stoke City x Manchester United (Predicted Lineup)
However, Fellaini should be ready in time for that game so perhaps Mourinho can rest easy as he aims to get Manchester United off to a winning start in the Champions League. With United set to play in several competitions, Jose will need every bit of his arsenal to do well across the board as expectations continue to rise at Old Trafford.