Jose's Verdict On Saint-Etienne Win

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho offered his opinion on Wednesday's Europa League victory over Saint-Etienne, as the Reds progressed to the last 16 of the competition.

Addressing reporters in his post-match press conference and in his interview with BT Sport, Mourinho discussed the result, United's fine form and potential Round of 16 opponents.

He also spoke about Eric Bailly's sending-off and injuries to Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick, with both doubtful for this weekend's EFL Cup final. Here are the key points from the manager's post-match interviews...

A PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE
"Everything was under control. Solid, focused, professional. Obviously the first goal kills every hope, but we still like to win. I told the players if somebody gives me a 2-0 victory I would not accept. We want always to try for the best possible results, so I think it's always good to win. We didn't play phenomenal, but we had complete control of the game and our destiny."

UPDATE ON MICKI AND CARRICK
"I think they are both out [of the final] but this is based on my experience, not on my medical knowledge and not based on tests and what they have to do tomorrow. I think no chance but I repeat it’s just my experience. A calf, a hamstring, even if it’s a minor injury, some fibre damage, I think out."

BAILLY'S RED CARD
"Hamouma has good qualities but he enjoyed too much the diving and the simulation, so he gets in these situations. Eric can't play the first match of the next round. Rojo came in and did well and hopefully Jones will be back soon. So one misses, it's an opportunity for another."

RED-HOT ATMOSPHERE
"The pitch was okay; it’s easy to feel they tried their best to have the pitch in the best possible condition. It was playable and not dangerous. The stadium was good, beautiful, the pitch was good, the crowd was fantastic and it was a pleasure to play here."

WINNING RUN
"We are not unbeaten but the record is really good. It’s nice to have only one little defeat in four months, and a defeat where we could [afford] that defeat because it was over two legs. So it’s nice, a good feeling. We trust each other. One day we are going to lose. The important thing is, after that defeat, we go back again to a good run because the team is playing solidly."

ANY PREFERENCE FOR THE LAST 16?
"Not really. I am used to difficult draws. I think now 16 teams, strong teams, some of them coming from the Champions League. If I could choose, I would choose not to travel a lot because we have Chelsea in between the two matches and Middlesbrough away after the second match, so if you give me something like Krasnodar or some very far destination I would prefer Olympique Lyon, which is two hours’ flight. I would prefer something close."

CHELSEA CUP DATE CONFIRMED
"I feel really surprised that the decision is made before our draw in Europe because, in this moment, nobody knows who we play against, nor where the first and second matches are being played. We play Chelsea on Monday [13 March] then we’ve got a second match in Europe, Russia or Turkey. This is what we have. I cannot play against Chelsea with the second team. I cannot play against Chelsea with the Under-21s, like Manchester City did – was it last year? We're Manchester United. I cannot do that. I don’t do that. As United manager, I don’t do that to the FA Cup because the FA Cup is not guilty of these decisions. The cup is beautiful, the competition is historical and I have to treat United supporters and the FA Cup in the right way. What is going to happen is an accumulation of matches, people playing lots of matches. I will have to make some rotation but some of the boys will have to play all consecutive matches."