(MENAFN- NewsBytes)
Mourinho not surprised after United lose to Valencia
13 Dec 2018
Manchester United passed up a glorious opportunity to top their Champions League group after losing 2-1 to Valencia last night.
United manager Jose Mourinho is naturally frustrated with his team and was clear about it in the post-match press conference.
What are his grievances? Why was it important for United to win the match?
Find out right here.
Mourinho's comments after the loss
Comments
Mourinho said players who regularly complain about not getting enough game time had the opportunity to prove him wrong, but they clearly could not make much out of it.
The Portuguese manager was clear in stating that he expects a lot more than what his players are delivering.
Mourinho later subbed in Lingard, Rashford, and Young, whom he wanted to rest for the Liverpool fixture.
A pacey attack is enough to crumble this United side
Performance
This Manchester United side simply cannot handle pace, as it was revealed by Valencia's exploits last night.
The 15th placed La Liga side were attacking constantly from the flanks and would have scored a lot more goals if they had better strikers.
This was the same ailment United suffered from when Manchester City thrashed them 3-1 in the Premier League.
Identifying the culprits behind United's error-strewn performance
Culprits
Paul Pogba missed one clear opportunity to score at a point, but the assistant referee had wrongfully declared him offside.
Romelu Lukaku really needs to increase his skills outside the box if he wants to continue playing at the highest level, as his performance was beyond dismal last night.
United's defense was in shambles, allowing Valencia to infiltrate their box several times.
Mourinho says finishing second is a success, but is it?
Problems
Mourinho said that he considers the group stage performance a success but clearly knows how difficult the job has become.
Had United finished first, they would've faced one team among Atletico Madrid, Roma, Schalke, Ajax, and Lyon.
But now United will have to face either Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Porto, Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich.
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