Mourinho: We Beat A Very Good Team

Jose Mourinho felt his Manchester United side beat “a very good team” as the Reds came from behind to defeat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.

After Willian had opened the scoring for the visitors, Romelu Lukaku found the net against his old employers with a fine finish before setting up substitute Jesse Lingard to head in what proved to be the winning goal as United reclaimed second place in the Premier League with a fourth successive home win.

It’s the second season in a row that the Reds have got the better of Mourinho’s former club Chelsea at the Theatre of Dreams, after the impressive 2-0 victory last term.

Here are the key points from the boss in his post-match interview with Sky Sports…

WE BEAT A VERY GOOD TEAM
“I think we beat a fantastic team. For some reason, they were the champions last season. For some reason, they played the way they did against Barcelona. For some reason, they started the game so well as they started here. We beat a very good team and to beat a very good team, you need to be organised but you also need to have a humble spirit where everybody works, everybody fights, everybody tries to follow a game plan. I repeat, we beat a very good team.”

IT WAS A TIGHT GAME
“They started very well, it's as simple as that. When Chelsea hit the posts, I was looking to my players and I was thinking 'what could we do?' or 'who can I blame?' but it was so beautifully played that I had nothing to say. They are a very good team - they have big routines of their football. They have a fantastic dynamic of the way they project the wing-backs. I was trying to find a way for my players to be dangerous in the interior football because through the sides Chelsea are very, very strong, so we found a way to play against them where we didn't concede much. I think we had a good control of Eden [Hazard], Willian, of course, is an amazing player and in that action [his goal] he killed us, but we took progression of the game, we had more and more control of the game without creating lots of chances because we didn't but they also didn't. That's the way I was expecting the game to be when I spoke with you before the game - a tight game.”

MCTOMINAY IS DOING FANTASTIC JOBS FOR US
“I think he's a fantastic player - a player that is what I call the modern midfield player, which in the end is a bit of what the top midfield players of the past were. They can do everything. The only thing he is not doing yet is scoring goals, which he can. But because I'm giving him different jobs, he's not yet free to do that. We are starting from the basics and the basics he's doing wonderfully well. I think he can also score goals - he has that talent. In pre-season, we understood that. But we are adapting him to his multi-functionality and he's doing fantastic jobs for us, like he did in Sevilla against Ever Banega and today against Eden, so I'm really happy with the player.”

A GREAT TEAM EFFORT
“I don't like to individualise - I think [Nemanja] Matic was phenomenal, I think [Paul] Pogba played a fantastic game in our midfield. I could speak about my central defenders too and the guys in attack - the mission Alexis had, to be the third attacking player but at the same time the fourth midfield player to try to cover the area in front of Scott. I think everyone made a big effort. Could the result have been a draw? Yes it could. But I think in the second half we were more confident, we felt more confident with the defensive base and I think if somebody deserved a victory it was us. But, if you were to say a draw, I would accept that. The important thing for us is that we beat a fantastic team.”