Mourinho Reacts To Victory Over Cherries

Jose Mourinho was pleased with the response of his Manchester United team after the 1-0 victory over Bournemouth on Wednesday night.

The Reds returned to winning ways after Sunday’s derby defeat by Manchester City by beating the Cherries on a wintry evening at Old Trafford thanks to a first-half header from top scorer Romelu Lukaku.

Read the key points from the boss in an interview with MUTV and his post-match press conference…

THREE POINTS ‘VERY IMPORTANT’
“We missed great chances to score the second goal and breathe and rest and then, in the last 10-15 minutes, they [Bournemouth] were fresher than us. They had one more day to rest, we had the derby three days ago. They had a fresh [Benik] Afobe and [Jermain] Defoe to bring to the game to give them some more dynamic and they brought that dynamic to the last part of the game. Overall, I think the performance was based on a big effort and big personality and the three points were very important.”

LUKAKU’S WINNING GOAL
“It was a good cross [from Juan Mata] and a good header and then, in the second half, some good movement but without the sharpness to kill it. We had [Anthony] Martial [who was] unlucky with a missed chance and Marcus [Rashford] with that amazing shot [which hit the woodwork] so we had conditions to kill the game but it was very important to keep control.”

ANOTHER CLEAN SHEET
“The objective was to win the game more comfortably but when you cannot do that and when you feel that your opponent in the last 10 minutes is a bit stronger and fresher than you, it’s important to keep a clean sheet and I’m really happy.”

‘VERY GOOD PERFORMANCE’
“I think it was a very good performance and very good determination to win. I think the team after a defeat try not to have a second defeat and that was in the back of their minds when they were playing. They want to win the match and I could see that from minute one until the last second. We had our best period in the first period of the second half. We had the two biggest chances of the game to kill the game. [Anthony] Martial is an easy chance and the Marcus [Rashford] shot is a fantastic one that deserves a fantastic goal. After that, they [Bournemouth] come to the game strong, I believe fresher than us, one more day to rest is very important. Two or three days is a big difference and Eddie [Howe, Bournemouth boss] had two strikers to bring to the game fresh in the last 15 minutes, Jermain [Defoe] and [Benik] Afobe. When we don’t score that second goal which kills the game, they have the hope and then they also have courage and quality in their team to give us the difficult 15 minutes that they gave us. The result was open until the end.”