JOSE MOURINHO DESCRIBED Manchester United as “the champion of wrong decisions” despite his side benefitting from some controversial calls against West Ham on Monday.
United won 2-0 at London Stadium through goals from Juan Mata and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to extend their run to six Premier League victories in a row and close to within a point of the top four.
The game turned on referee Mike Dean’s decision to send off Sofiane Feghouli after only 15 minutes, with the Algeria winger earning a straight red card after he arrived later than Phil Jones in a bruising 50-50 challenge.
West Ham were frustrated further when Ibrahimovic turned and blasted in the killer second goal 12 minutes from time after the officials failed to spot that he had strayed offside.
Mourinho insisted he did not have a clear view of the red card incident but claimed that United have had more than their fair share of poor officiating this season.
He told the BBC: “I didn’t watch it, I don’t know. I think, if you speak about decisions, we are the champion of the wrong decisions.”
Earlier, he suggested that the officials suffer from a gruelling festive fixture pile-up as much as the players and managers.
I was really far and I didn’t watch it on television,” he told Sky Sports. “I had to educate myself in the first half of this season because we had so many controversial decisions.
“I had to cope with frustrations, with a Zlatan goal disallowed [against Middlesbrough], a clear penalty against Crystal Palace in the last part of the game, I had to cope with many wrong decisions.
Honestly, I think this period is also difficult for the referees. It’s fantastic for the people at home, the people who come to the stadiums, but for us, it’s hard. Even for me, and I don’t run.”
Mata and Marcus Rashford made a real difference to United’s play as second-half substitutes and Mourinho praised the duo for their impact.
“Congratulations to everyone on the pitch. I was a bit disappointed with some mistakes, some bad decisions, but it’s typical of fatigue. There are no miracles,” he said.
It was a question of move the ball, find spaces and accelerate the game. Mata, Rashford brought intensity to the game, and I had [Anthony] Martial to come as well.
“We did okay, not a phenomenal match but the circumstances were really difficult.”
United have now won their last six matches in the top flight and are unbeaten in their last 13 games in all competitions – their best run since March 2013, when Alex Ferguson was in charge.
We don’t chase records, we just chase good performances and points,” was Mourinho’s assessment of their form. “We know that Chelsea or Tottenham are going to lose points, or both [when they play on Wednesday], like last week – we knew Liverpool or Man City would lose points.
“We need to try to get points. We drew too much and now six matches, six victories, 18 points – that’s exactly what we need.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
