Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has defended Marouane Fellaini, blaming the Wembley pitch for Jamie Vardy‘s equaliser in the Community Shield.
It was the Belgian’s under-hit back-pass that Vardy ran onto before taking the ball around David de Gea to make it 1-1 before Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s late header gave United the win.
Fellaini has been the subject of intense criticism from United before, but Mourinho jumped to the defence of his midfielder, claiming the slow nature of the pitch was to blame for the goal.
“[It was] the mistake of the slow pitch,” he told reporters at his post-match press conference.
“Before the game I touched the pitch and thought we’re in trouble. We wanted a quick pitch. I don’t know if they forgot to water the pitch.”
The goal was the only negative on an otherwise positive day for United, who claimed their first trophy of the Mourinho era in his first competitive fixture.
Jesse Lingard opened the scoring with a superb solo goal, collecting the ball near the half-way line before beating four Leicester defenders to slide a side-footed finish under Kasper Schmeichel.
Leicester equalised through Vardy and it looked to be heading towards a penalty shoot-out until Ibrahimovic rose above Wes Morgan to head in Antonio Valencia’s cross.
Fellaini, meanwhile, faces heavy competition for a starting place in central midfield, with the likes of Ander Herrera, Morgan Schneiderlin and Michael Carrick playing the same position.
The imminent arrival of Paul Pogba will cut the number of places up for grabs further, but Fellaini has vowed to fight for his place in the side.
His physical style and height does mean he offers Mourinho a different style – something the Portuguese manager could use in certain games.
Having won the Community Shield, Fellaini will now be hoping to start once again when United begin their Premier League campaign away against Bournemouth on Sunday.
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