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Mourinho: Manchester United attackers don’t deserve the bench

By Marwan Harraz

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United shows appreciation to the fans during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Manchester United and Burton Albion at Old Trafford on September 20, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Manchester United shows appreciation to the fans during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Manchester United and Burton Albion at Old Trafford on September 20, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /
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According to Jose Mourinho, none of Manchester United’s attackers should be benched due to their good form with the manager facing a selection headache.

Mourinho’s men are set to battle against Southampton later today and the Manchester United manager appears to face a selection headache. It’s a headache most managers would like to have as Jose compliments his attackers for their good form. Whoever starts today will perhaps indicate who the boss values more.

manchester united's martial
SWANSEA, WALES – AUGUST 19: (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images) /

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Speaking on the lack of game time, the Portuguese tactician said, “It’s hard for him [Martial] but it’s hard for many others. So many players are in good moments, playing well. It’s hard for all of them. When I see the match last Wednesday [a 4-1 EFL Cup win over Burton Albion], the attacking players – Martial, Rashford, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard – who deserves to be on the bench?”.

“No-one. Nobody deserves to be on the bench. But they are four, plus Romelu Lukaku and Henrikh Mkhitaryan is six. I cannot play with the six.” said Mourinho. When Zlatan Ibrahimovic returns that would add up to 7 players for presumably 4 attacking spots. There’s also the occasional formation shift to a 4-3-3 which leaves just 3 positions for those players to fill.

Had Andreas Pereira stayed at Manchester United instead of going on loan to Valencia, perhaps he would be another player to compete for those positions. However, in comparison to those other players, Pereira is also an assent in central midfield meaning he can also compete with Fellaini, Carrick, Herrera, Matic and Pogba.

As most United fans have seen, an injury to one of those players is all that’s needed to make the team feel understaffed. Pogba is out for the time being and Andreas would’ve made a nice, direct replacement for the Frenchman. Whether the youngsters decision to leave will be justified, only time will tell but it does prove that there was a place for him should he have decided to stay.

Next: Rashford and Martial shine in match against Burton Albion

As for the current crop of Mourinho’s attackers, they will all need to continue fighting for the same spots and remaining in good form should Manchester United have any chance of some silverware this season. The Red Devils have had 8 different goal-scorers this season already and that’s a credit both, to the players for proving their worth and for Jose’s tactics that allows freedom of play.

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