Jose Mourinho has blasted his players for having the wrong attitude prior to Manchester United’s Europa League tie with St Etienne.
The Red Devils won the first leg of their Round of 32 meeting 3-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However the hosts started the tie at Old Trafford poorly.
‘I had the feeling immediately in the dressing room, too noisy, too funny, too relaxed,’ Mourinho said after the match.
‘My assistants had the feeling in the warm-up, some of the guys were not focused on getting the right adrenaline in their bodies. The game started and the first thing we did was a back-pass to the striker.
‘The first-half was hard. Even myself on the touchline, it was difficult to communicate. Second-half different story.’
Prior to kick-off Paul Pogba and brother Florentin could be seen jovially sharing a secret handshake in the tunnel.
Mourinho was much happier though with what he saw in the second period.
‘We were lucky to be winning at half time,’ he said after seeing his team come in 1-0 up thanks to a fortunate free-kick from Ibrahimovic.
‘It was a different story in the second half. Fast, we were recovering the ball higher up in the pitch.
‘I didn’t think still it was a perfect game because we still lost the ball in various circumstances.
‘The result is not over but it’s a good result.’
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