Mourinho explains his pre-match outburst towards assistants
Sep 30, 2016 at 1:17 PM
Manchester United narrowly overcame Ukrainian minnows Zorya Luhansk at Old Trafford in a largely forgettable Europa League clash on Thursday night.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s second-half header was the only difference between the two sides but it was an evening of frustration for the players, coaches and fans alike.
In fact, arguably the most noteworthy and entertaining moment of the night came before the first whistle had been blown.
The game hadn’t even kicked off when Jose Mourinho appeared to erupt into an angry rant towards his backroom staff and more specifically, coach Giovanni Cerra.
Man United’s coaching staff were then spotted frantically flicking through their various notepads and to gather some piece of tactical information the Portuguese boss was expecting.
It was behaviour you’d usually associate with Mourinho after conceding a goal but on this occasion it wasn’t clear what had caused the tirade.
You can see a clip of the incident in the video below as Mourinho reveals what the outburst was about.
“It was set pieces, organisation, they changed their team before the game,” Mourinho told BT after the game.
“Paul Pogba was a bit confused with the changes and obviously I want my assistants to take care of all the details.”
The ex-Chelsea boss is a stickler for his pre-match preparation so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see even the slightest piece of miscommunication aggravate the 53-year-old.
Of course, Mourinho has never been afraid to criticise his backroom staff, however, the less said about the Eva Carneiro incident at Stamford Bridge last season, the better.
Back to the game and Mourinho was understandably keen not to go overboard about the result after such an unconvincing performance.
“It was hard work. We deserved to win and we tried to win, but it was difficult. They were very well organised defensively, which we expected.”
The way the Red Devils picked up the three points might not have been pretty but a win’s a win.
It’s clear from his team selection that Mourinho doesn’t value the Europa League too highly this season, however, in the absence of the Champions League football it should not be taken for granted by any means.