Ten Hag thanks United fans for ‘unshakeable support’ as he departs with trophies and memories
United swiftly appointed Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim as his successor.
Upbeat about Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Newcastle at Old Trafford on Saturday, coach Jose Mourinho said that apart from the win and three points, the return of injured players, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Marcos Rojo was a joy for everyone.
“The result, the three points, the performance after the Newcastle goal, that mentality to react without panic in a positive way, and obviously the return of injured players is nice – especially in Zlatan’s case; such a dramatic injury, and to see him back is a great emotion. It was a joy for everyone but for all of us that stayed close to such a professional with one of the biggest injuries in football, it was more than that; it was a big emotion to see that for the big guy,” said Mourinho in the press conference.
In all praise for Paul Pogba, who scored in his comeback match, Mourinho said that he was a different class. “He looked like he wasn’t out for such a long time without playing football. At the beginning of the season we had Paul and Matic growing up together and being like the engine of the team. We lost a little bit of that; other players are good players but they have different qualities, so it was good. I left it in Paul’s hands how many minutes to play until he had just the first feeling of fatigue, so we made that decision at a good time and I think it was a great performance by him,” the coach added.
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Talking about the shocking lead that New Castle tool through Dwight Gayle, Jose Mourinho said Newcastle started very well and created problems for his team. “We couldn’t play and at the same time they were creating problems in our defensive areas. But the goal was a wake-up call. The team reacted very well and very strong. The goal in the first half was very important because it took away from us the pressure of being behind and playing at home. The second half was ours: we had control, we had goals, we had beautiful actions,” added the coach.
With inputs from official website of Manchester United
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