Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has blamed his players for the 2-1 defeat to Fenerbahce in Thurday’s night Europa league match and has accused them of not having the right mentality.
Fenerbahce took the lead after only 90 seconds with a fantastic overhead kick from striker Moussa Sow and increased their lead in the second half when Jeremain Lens curled in superb free kick that left keeper De Gea rooted to the ground. United threatened a fight back when on 89 minutes Wayne Rooney fine strike reduced the deficit but it was too late as the Turkish club hung on to victory.
Mourinho clearly unhappy with the outcome of the match had harsh words for his players. Speaking to BT He said:
“A team that concedes after two minutes is a team that is not ready, not mentally prepared, not focused, not concentrated. Our problems started in our global attitude. They were playing the Champions League final, we were playing a summer friendly. That is the reality of how the game started.
“They deserved to win, football is not just about quality, it is also about effort, commitment, playing the limits and giving everything. You have to play for 90 minutes in the maximum of your desire and concentration. In an atmosphere like this, to give the advantage to the opposition, that is where they want to be. They then slowed the play, putting pressure on the referee, simulating and that is our fault.”
The Portuguese had more to say
“I played twice with Real Madrid and twice with Chelsea, I played with Porto too, so I pass to the players all my experience. And my experience is that when you play against them in our home, it’s easy. It’s always 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, it’s easy. You come to Turkey and it is completely different story, so I told them to wait for that, told them not to be focused on the easy game we had at Old Trafford and to be ready for a completely different game.
The result left United in third place in Group A of the Europa league.
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