Jose Mourinho claims Manchester United did not lose to Tottenham in 'tactical' and 'strategic' sense
Mourinho believed his team did enough to avoid defeat despite the heavy 3-0 scoreline
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho claimed that Manchester United did not lose to Tottenham Hotspur in a ‘strategic’ and ‘tactical’ sense despite their 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford on Monday night.
A Harry Kane header and two Lucas Moura goals consigned United to their second defeat of the new Premier League season, which is still just three games old.
United were not as poor as in their last outing, against Brighton and Hove Albion, and would have led had Romelu Lukaku not spurned his first-half attempt at an open goal.
This was, nevertheless, the heaviest home defeat of Mourinho’s managerial career, even if the United manager felt his side deserved more from the game.
“We work all week, and by the strategic point of view we didn’t lose, by the tactical point of view we didn’t lose, but we lost the game,” he told Sky Sports.
“We work very, very well during the week, we prepared the game very well, we played very well, the players had a fantastic attitude.
“At half-time the result should be two goals different minimum – 2-0, 3-1, 3-0. And then something changed the game a little bit.
“Then the result was 2-0 but the team was in the game, and I think everyone could feel one goal could change the direction of the game.
“I think Tottenham felt it, we were feeling that too. But then the third goal came and killed the game.”
Mourinho stood in front of Old Trafford’s Stretford End after the final whistle, applauding those supporters that had stayed behind.
Many others had left not long after Lucas’ second and Tottenham’s third of the night, but Mourinho believes he retains the support of United’s fan base.
The Portuguese also claimed that United’s “intelligent” supporters would ignore the mounting speculation regarding his future and reports of internal disputes at the club.
“All our fans don’t read papers, all our fans don’t watch television, all our fans are more intelligent than that,” he said.
“They answer in an absolutely amazing way. I don’t think it’s normal for a team to lose 3-0 at home, and for the supporters to react in that way.
“I just think that if anyone that watched this game and many thousands of our fans looked at the game, one thing they know for sure is that the team is united.
“A team doesn’t fight the way they fought, give everything they gave if the team is not united.”
Mourinho added: “The team that fights the way they did, with the empathy between the players, solidarity between the players, with the dignity to play together for Manchester United.
“To lose at home of course is a very difficult thing for anyone, but I think one thing is clear, the team is united. There are no union without the manager.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments