Jose Mourinho was happy with the way his Manchester United team controlled the game as the rampant Reds hit four past Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Juan Mata opened the scoring, Marouane Fellaini netted a brace and Romelu Lukaku scored his 11th goal of the season as United eased past the struggling Eagles to go top of the Premier League.
Here are the key points from the boss, who spoke to MUTV and in his post-match press conference…
'WE WERE IN GOOD CONTROL'
"I’d rather swap one 4-0 win for four 1-0 victories but I know that’s not possible. We are happy, we played solid, we played strong from the beginning, we were in good control. There were some little mistakes, which is typical from some of their players and is typical from playing against a team which is lacking in confidence, which they are."
FIVE CHANGES THE DIFFERENCE
"We tried to change some players and we did that with five [changes from the team that won in Moscow] and I think these five make the difference. You could see [Antonio] Valencia, Phil [Jones], [Marouane] Fellaini, [Juan] Mata and [Marcus] Rashford were at a different stage than [Romelu] Lukaku and [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, which is normal. But the combination worked well, the players coming from the bench also helped and we deserved the victory that we need."
IMPORTANT TO SHARE THE GOALS
"We always expect a striker to score more goals than the others but especially our attacking players, they have the freedom to play. They can always be in finishing areas, in fact I want them to be, so if people like Lingard, Mata, Mkhitaryan and Martial score goals, I think it’s just a natural consequence of the way we play."
FELLAINI STEALS THE SHOW
"He is a great player and character and we have a good relationship. A strong character who resists the difficulties here. Some people did not recognise his qualities so he has to be a strong character. He is a fighter. I am really pleased that I help him reach this level and to change the perception that the fans have now. I am really happy for him. Fellaini has important qualities and I try and use his qualities depending on the situations. He plays with me as a defensive midfielder and as a second striker and adapts to the needs of the team."
PLEASED WITH HIS TEAM
"I need good players and good people. I need players with maturity. With the concept of 'team'. I know the new players are more individuals as the society makes them this way. Valencia, Mata, Matic and others, it's great to have these players."
RUTHLESS REDS
"It's just four matches at home [so far this season]. In the same four matches last season we picked up eight points, not 12. We are playing well, not for 90 minutes as sometimes we have periods where we lose our consistency in what I call quality with high intensity, but it is difficult to do that for 90 minutes after a Champions League game. I am happy we start the season very strong, respecting the opponents but not giving them the chance to be stable in the game, so I am very happy with the points."
Juan Mata opened the scoring, Marouane Fellaini netted a brace and Romelu Lukaku scored his 11th goal of the season as United eased past the struggling Eagles to go top of the Premier League.
Here are the key points from the boss, who spoke to MUTV and in his post-match press conference…
'WE WERE IN GOOD CONTROL'
"I’d rather swap one 4-0 win for four 1-0 victories but I know that’s not possible. We are happy, we played solid, we played strong from the beginning, we were in good control. There were some little mistakes, which is typical from some of their players and is typical from playing against a team which is lacking in confidence, which they are."
FIVE CHANGES THE DIFFERENCE
"We tried to change some players and we did that with five [changes from the team that won in Moscow] and I think these five make the difference. You could see [Antonio] Valencia, Phil [Jones], [Marouane] Fellaini, [Juan] Mata and [Marcus] Rashford were at a different stage than [Romelu] Lukaku and [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, which is normal. But the combination worked well, the players coming from the bench also helped and we deserved the victory that we need."
IMPORTANT TO SHARE THE GOALS
"We always expect a striker to score more goals than the others but especially our attacking players, they have the freedom to play. They can always be in finishing areas, in fact I want them to be, so if people like Lingard, Mata, Mkhitaryan and Martial score goals, I think it’s just a natural consequence of the way we play."
FELLAINI STEALS THE SHOW
"He is a great player and character and we have a good relationship. A strong character who resists the difficulties here. Some people did not recognise his qualities so he has to be a strong character. He is a fighter. I am really pleased that I help him reach this level and to change the perception that the fans have now. I am really happy for him. Fellaini has important qualities and I try and use his qualities depending on the situations. He plays with me as a defensive midfielder and as a second striker and adapts to the needs of the team."
PLEASED WITH HIS TEAM
"I need good players and good people. I need players with maturity. With the concept of 'team'. I know the new players are more individuals as the society makes them this way. Valencia, Mata, Matic and others, it's great to have these players."
RUTHLESS REDS
"It's just four matches at home [so far this season]. In the same four matches last season we picked up eight points, not 12. We are playing well, not for 90 minutes as sometimes we have periods where we lose our consistency in what I call quality with high intensity, but it is difficult to do that for 90 minutes after a Champions League game. I am happy we start the season very strong, respecting the opponents but not giving them the chance to be stable in the game, so I am very happy with the points."
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