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Jose Mourinho Defends Team Selection Following Man Utd's 3-1 Defeat At West Ham

Mourinho started with Scott McTominay and Anthony Martial at the London Stadium 

Jose Mourinho defended his team selection after Manchester United crashed 3-1 at West Ham and singled out "special" Scott McTominay for praise.

Mourinho left the under-performing Alexis Sanchez out of his squad for the trip to the London Stadium and then revealed his decision to start with a back three, including midfielder McTominay, was to accommodate Anthony Martial.

But Martial was hauled off with 20 minutes remaining, along with Paul Pogba, as Felipe Anderson’s early strike, a Victor Lindelof own-goal and Marko Arnautovic’s finish left United empty-handed.

 Anthony Martial started for United at West Ham
Anthony Martial started for United at West Ham
And Mourinho’s glowing praise of youngster McTominay gave the distinct impression that he was sending a message to certain other players.

“I wanted to play Martial, it’s something [people] are asking for a long, long, long time,” he said.
“I left Alexis out, and I think Martial is not a player very focused on his defensive duties so to play him as second striker would be easier for him.

Highlights from West Ham's 3-1 win over Manchester United in the Premier League
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“But at the same time I felt we needed quality on the ball, building from the back, and Scott McTominay has that quality. Everything that left his foot was correct.

“He’s a special character, a special personality that a team in a negative moment needs," he added. “Do my other players have that mentality? Not all of them. Everybody is a different person.
“Scott McTominay is a kid with a special character, very humble, aggressive in a positive way, brave, he’s a special kid."

West Ham were ahead after five minutes after Pablo Zabaleta was slipped in behind Luke Shaw down United's left and his low cross was met at the near post with a deft backheel from Anderson.

Mourinho claimed Zabaleta was offside, and that the same defender fouled Marcus Rashford in the build-up to Arnautovic's late goal, which came moments after substitute Rashford had halved the deficit. But he did admit defensive errors were to blame for Yarmolenko's shot looping into the top corner off Lindelof just before half-time.

Jose Mourinho shows his frustration during the game against West Ham
Jose Mourinho shows his frustration during the game against West Ham
"We were a team that comes with that mental fragility of a bad result [the Derby match]," he said.
"Coming here and after five minutes we were losing 1-0, which is not the best way to start. The goal was offside and, last Tuesday with the VAR, it would not have been a goal.

"Then in the first half we had a good reaction but an own goal makes 2-0. An own goal where we knew Yarmolenko is very, very left-footed, we had to cover that side, we had Matic on the ball and Luke Shaw and Lindelof very close by, but we were not aggressive enough to close that shot and then we were losing 2-0."

Paul Pogba and Andriy Yarmolenko in action
Paul Pogba and Andriy Yarmolenko in action
Up next for Manchester United is Valencia at Old Trafford in the Champions League and despite his side's poor results in recent matches, Mourinho says the club should be looking forward to the match on Tuesday.

"For myself, speaking of my own feelings, I am really happy that we have a game on Tuesday," he added. "I am really happy that I now go to the train and I start immediately thinking about training tomorrow, about the match on Tuesday and I prefer that than playing next Sunday, with one week of these bad feelings.

"I look forward to that match on Tuesday and I hope the majority of the players have this same kind of mentality, and that they are looking forward to Tuesday."

 

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