Mourinho on leaked line-ups: Jose Mourinho took a dig at journalist over a series of his starting XI leaks in the last few weeks.
Manchester United are currently 8th in the Premier League with 17 points from 10 games so far. Jose Mourinho’s side has been relatively impressive in their last few league games.
The side registered a comeback win over Newcastle, and conceded an equalizer in the last second at Stamford Bridge, before securing another three points against Everton. United now face Bournemouth, who have been terrific this season.
Eddie Howe’s side is 6th in the league with 20 points, and Manchester United would aim to bring their campaign back on track as they travel to Dean Court on Saturday.
United await a tough set of fixtures next week, which include a trip to Turin as they take on Juventus in the Champions League, and the season’s first Manchester Derby on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium.
Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, addressed the concern over leaked United starting XIs of late. The first time it happened this season was before the game against West Ham in September, which United lost 3-1. The line-up was leaked again before the league clash against Chelsea, which reportedly made Mourinho furious.
Mourinho on leaked line-ups:
Jose Mourinho took a dig at a journalist over the alleged leaked line-ups over the last few weeks.
The Manchester United manager was asked on whether Romelu Lukaku would start the game on Sunday. Mourinho replied, “Ask him. Ask Samuel,” referring to Manchester Evening News’ journalist, Samuel Luckhurst.
Mourinho in a jovial mood today, when asked whether Lukaku would start: ‘”Er. Ask him. Ask Samuel.’ #mufc
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) November 2, 2018
The leaked line-ups came courtesy of the Manchester Evening News, where Luckhurst works as Chief Manchester United writer. The journalist was present in the press conference.
Romelu Lukaku was benched for the game against Everton, owing to poor form. He came on in the second half but missed an unmarked header towards the end of the game.
Jose: “We have to get the points we need to try to be in a better position by the end of December, where I expect us to be.” #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 2, 2018
With the return of Alexis Sanchez, it will be interesting to see if Mourinho continues with Rashford up-front, or choose one of Alexis or Lukaku.
Jose on Bournemouth: “Their story doesn’t surprise me. They have had stability as a Premier League team and now they want more. They are fighting for those Europa League positions, just below the top four, which is a difficult target for anyone.” #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 2, 2018
What next?
Jose Mourinho also provided team news for the game against Bournemouth. With Sanchez, Jesse Lingard also returns to the side, while Antonio Valencia, Diogo Dalot and Marouane Fellaini are unavailable.
Mourinho on Valencia: “I watched something funny on his Instagram where he says ‘work, work, work in the gym’. He should say ‘work, work, work alone because I am injured and cannot train with the team’. He was working really, really hard – but without the ball & the team.”
— Rob Dawson (@RobDawsonESPN) November 2, 2018
