Ben Guest
Jose Mourinho has said Manchester United were defensively awful during their 2-1 win over Bournemouth this afternoon.
Manchester United fell behind after just 11 first-half minutes when Callum Wilson added to his tally for the season with a composed first time finish. United hauled themselves level when Anthony Martial tucked home at the other end before half time, but the 1-1 scoreline at the interval totally flattered the visitors, who had been dominated throughout.
“It was the whole first half. I said at half-time I was the luckiest manager in the Premier League in a half when it should be like 5/6-2,” Mourinho told BT Sport.
“We were defensively awful. As a team, we didn’t press or do any of the work we did in the week. People watching this game will not believe how hard we worked this week.
“The first half was a disaster. The second half was much better. We created lots of chances and deserved to score before the 92nd minute.”
United came out with renewed vigour in the second half and could have scored a hatful themselves, with Marcus Rashford eventually stabbing the ball home in the 92nd minute. When asked about what he said at the half-time interval, Mourinho confirmed that he told his players that they couldn’t be any worse.
“I started off positive. I said it is impossible to play worse than we did so the second half will be better for sure. I was happy bringing Ander Herrera into the game.
“I felt we needed him to give more balance and to recover the ball faster. I was happy with that change. It was much better.”
The result leaves United in seventh in the Premier League, level on points with sixth placed Bournemouth, but with a worse goal difference.