Playing against Liverpool on Monday is a ‘poisoned gift’, says Jose Mourinho
Sep 30, 2016 at 5:42 PM
Manchester United’s hectic schedule has not gone down too well with their manager Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese tactician has consistently expressed his reservations over the tight schedule due to European fixtures and United’s next few fixtures are only going to increase his frustration.
Mourinho, who is trying to bring his team’s campaign back on track after three consecutive losses, faces a huge task as his men are set for a busy run after the international break, with five matches in 13 days. United will play their crucial Europa League clash against Fenerbahce next month sandwiched between tough away matches against high-flying Liverpool and Chelsea.
Mourinho is particularly angry with the timing of his team’s match against Liverpool on Monday, October 17.
“Well, we could play Liverpool on the Saturday, we could play Liverpool on the Sunday, but we play Liverpool on the Monday [October 17],” Mourinho said after his team beat Zorya 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.
“So maybe we don’t have the best conditions especially because we play against two top Premier League teams that don’t play in European competitions.
“We have this kind of poisoned gift of playing on the Monday that creates a very difficult situation, but we want to try to qualify for the next round,” he added.
With the win against Zorya, the Red Devils are third in Group A and to avoid any complications they need to beat Fenerbahce and Mourinho hinted that he would field a strong team against the Turkish club.
“It’s a long time to go, almost a month, but we want to try so we play against Fenerbahce with a team with the possibility to beat Fenerbahce.”
The manager admitted that there is not much he can do about the fixtures, saying: “I think it’s impossible. The poisoned gift is already there.
“So what can we do? We have to just play on Monday and then Thursday and then Stamford Bridge on Sunday.”