Jose Mourinho says Manchester United have ‘lots of enemies’ as fixture pile-up leaves Paul Pogba and Daley Blind injured and Marcos Rojo needing a banana
JOSE MOURINHO went bananas despite Manchester United progressing to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
The Red Devils ended Rostov’s European journey with a 1-0 win following Juan Mata’s second-half goal at Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho defended Manchester United after they progressed in EuropeGetty Images
EPA Jose Mourinho handed a banana to Marcos Rojo[/caption]
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In a clear swipe at the authorities who decide the fixture list, Mourinho said: “It was a difficult game. We have a lot of enemies.
“Normally the enemies should be Rostov but we have lots of enemies and it’s difficult.
“It’s difficult to play Monday night with ten men. It’s difficult to play now. It’s difficult to play Sunday at 12pm.
"So we have lots of enemies, but the boys tonight were fantastic. I imagine some people were saying we should play better, we should score more goals, we should not have so many difficulties to beat these opponents.
"But the reality is we have lots, lots of things going against us so we have to fight, and the boys are amazing boys and probably we lose the game on Sunday but we will try our best."
United lost Paul Pogba to a muscular injury in the second halfGetty ImagesDaley Blind was then forced off through injury after receiving a blow to the headEPAJuan Mata's goal gave Manchester United breathing space in the tieRex FeaturesJose Mourinho referenced to Manchester United's relentless scheduleReuters
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As a clearly tired Rojo needed a banana to boost his energy levels, Mourinho did not see the funny side.
"The banana situation is not funny at all — we have to respect a player’s physical situation," he said.
"Marcus Rojo was in big trouble. If you are tired anytime in your life, I know what the body needs: anything. The player asks for a banana but it is not to laugh."
The Special One also showed sympathy towards United's rival club, City, after they crashed out of Europe after losing 3-1 to Monaco.
The 54-year-old added: "I'm very disappointed [Man City are out of Europe] and I'm not making fun of it, I'm speaking really and feeling it and it's bad for us for many reasons.
"It's bad for us because it's an English club. It's bad for us because all the five teams in front of us in the Premier League, nobody has international football so they will be playing one match a week like some have been doing since the beginning of the season.
"They don’t know what fatigue is, they don’t know what is accumulation, they don’t know what it is to go home and not be able to speak because of fatigue."
Jose Mourinho says Man City's departure will have a negative affect on UnitedEPAMan City's stars looked dejected after Tiemoue Bakayoko scored for MonacoReuters
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