Mourinho's Verdict On Dramatic Victory

Jose Mourinho said he was tired but holding onto the dream of winning the Europa League in May after Manchester United beat Anderlecht 2-1 in extra-time at Old Trafford, 3-2 on aggregate, to reach the semi-finals.

As well as reflecting on a dramatic match against the Belgian league leaders, the United manager also spoke about Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, both of whom had to leave the field with worrying injuries in the first half and at the end of normal time respectively...

ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE FINAL
"It was a difficult game, a difficult opponent, I am tired, I imagine the players are more tired than me but we are in the draw tomorrow and we still have the dream to win the competition."

INJURIES TO ROJO AND IBRAHIMOVIC
"I want to wait but my feeling is not good, for both. I want to try to be optimistic but I’m not. I don’t think they are easy injuries but I prefer to wait until all the tests are done tomorrow. After tomorrow then I can speak what I feel because I am a manager, not a doctor."

HOW WE GAINED CONTROL
“I think we had like 17 shots and 10 on target, something like that but the game was difficult. When you look at these numbers, maybe somebody who didn’t watch the match thinks it was total dominance but it was not like that. They started much better than us and despite our chances, they had good control of the game for about one hour. I think when we put one more player in midfield we started controlling the game and then you are always at risk because at 1-1 you are at risk. But from that moment we were in control and it was just a question of scoring and not conceding. It was hard though."

STILL COMPETING ON TWO FRONTS
“We keep trying. While mathematically it is possible in the Premier League we have to fight for it. If one day it is not mathematically possible we have to put everything in the Europa League because the Europa League is an important title and on top of that the bonus of playing in the Champions League. We had today an example of how difficult it is and we now have a Spanish team, a French team and Ajax [with us in the semi-finals draw] so we are not expecting anything easy.”

RASHFORD'S MENTAL STRENGTH
“Ok, you speak about his qualities, his quality is fantastic, but he was not scoring a goal since September and because of his mentality, because of what he gives us, even if he isn’t scoring goals I kept relying on him. Some other players don’t realise what makes me trust a player and Marcus I trust. It doesn’t matter, score or doesn’t score, he is fantastic in his effort and attitude."