Jose Mourinho was unable to contain his anger with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Rostov.
In tough conditions his side came away with a decent result in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 tie, however it could have been even better. With Henrikh Mkhitaryan putting the Red Devils ahead, the Premier League side were pegged back by a goal from Aleksandr Bukharov early in the second half.
The goal was conceded from a direct pass into the striker who got in behind Smalling and Jones and controlled the ball brilliantly with his chest before firing into the back of the net past Sergio Romero.
Mourinho though felt the goal owed most to poor defending from his side.
‘It does not matter if you are leading 1-0, you have to be ready for everything,’ Mourinho told BT Sport. ‘We conceded the goal and there was a mistake but we have a second game to come.’
Overall, Mourinho was happy with his players considering the dreadful pitch they were forced to play on.
‘It was a very good performance in relation to the conditions. It was impossible to play better, impossible to play a passing game.
‘We played what the game demanded and we played well. We made one defensive mistake.
‘We have an open result for the second leg with a little advantage for us. There are no injuries.
‘I did not see us conceding but we did. They are very direct and do not use the wingers. Our three central defenders had a very positive game. The midfield fought for the second goal and tried to give something in attack.’
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