Mourinho: We Were The Better Team

Jose Mourinho spoke to MUTV and in his press conference after Manchester United drew 1-1 with Liverpool at Old Trafford. Here's what the manager had to say...

ON THE GAME
"The result is not the result we wanted, it’s not the result we fought for, but it is a result we have to accept. We were the team with the chances in the first half but they were the team who scored with the penalty, then in the second half we dominated them and had more chances, but they defended well and tried to smell the possibility of a counter-attack. It was a very emotional game and I believe both sets of players are very tired because they gave everything. But I think Manchester United can play better than we did and I also think Liverpool can play better. So the game was below the quality of both teams, but in terms of a proper Premier League match and a derby, it had a lot for people to enjoy."

HUNTING AN EQUALISER
"I was watching the game, we were losing and I was looking always to the same side – I have a problem with my neck because I was always looking to the left side! We changed the qualities of our game and went to a more direct approach because Liverpool were defending with so many bodies behind the ball; in the end we put pressure on them, we equalised and I think, with a few more minutes, we were closer to wining because they were under real pressure and our team was so strong mentally and emotionally."

CHANCES MISSED
"We missed important chances. I saw good saves by the goalkeeper, I saw Mkhitaryan backpassing the ball [behind Martial], I saw the Fellaini ball hit the post. I saw so many things happening then but the goal was not coming. Finally, the goal came and I repeat: with a few more minutes, we win the game. But no more minutes."

HAPPY WITH A POINT?
"I’m not happy. Whether it’s good or bad, I’m not happy. When are you losing and score in the last part of the game, the team that concedes the goal feels worse than the team who scores, but in the end we lost the points because we were playing for three. And the way they played, I think they were happy with the point, so probably they go away happy."

FELLAINI'S IMPACT
"I had one more option: Fellaini or Rashford. But I saw so many yellow shirts in the box, in front of the box, that I thought probably my players would lose a bit of the emotional balance and would go for a more direct approach. To go with a more direct approach, it has to be with Marouane and he was an important player for us."

PRAISE FOR LIVERPOOL
"In the second half, Liverpool were winning and they know how to defend – they defend very well. I think they press really well and their lateral movement is good. When we played at Anfield, we had a phenomenal defensive performance with lots of critics; today I think Liverpool don’t deserve critics, I think they deserve people to say that defensively they are very good."