Mourinho on Rashford reaction: The Manchester United manager has responded to criticism surrounding his reaction to Rashford’s miss.
Manchester United went through to the round-of-16 of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Young Boys. Marouane Fellaini scored an injury-time winner to secure three points at Old Trafford for the side.
However, Manchester United fans have had to endure a frustrating night, as the side missed a number of chances throughout the game.
The most glaring miss came very early in the first half, when Marcus Rashford missed a relatively easy chance on a counter-attack. Reacting to the miss, Mourinho turned his back towards the field and shook his head in dismay, while looking at his bench.
His reaction invited criticism from pundits and fans alike, with many stating that it would further hamper the confidence of a young Rashford. The Portuguese manager has now reacted to the criticism.
Mourinho on Rashford reaction:
Jose Mourinho stated that he was disappointed with Rashford missing the chance, and talked about a similar incident during the time of Sir Alex Ferguson.
“I cannot say I am not happy about a player missing a chance,” Mourinho said.
Gary Lineker on Mourinho’s reaction to Rashford’s miss: ‘You just don’t do that as a coach.’
Sir Alex Ferguson to Cristiano Ronaldo: pic.twitter.com/v3HyBjgtKC— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) November 28, 2018
“Some friends send me an image of Ronaldo missing a chance, and Sir Alex speaking in beautiful Scottish and that moment killed Ronaldo’s career. Since that moment, Ronaldo was never a player again,” Mourinho funnily remarked.
Earlier, Mourinho insisted that that it is natural for a manager to be frustrated at a missed chance.
Journalist: Mourinho what do you think of Rashford should he be in the Man Utd team or not?
Mourinho: pic.twitter.com/iEjZHrTxHc
— Sport For Pidgin (@surebankersport) November 27, 2018
“I can never, never, blame a player because of missing chances.
Mourinho: ‘I cannot say I am not happy about a player missing a chance. Some friends send me an image of Ronaldo missing a chance, and Sir Alex speaking in beautiful Scottish and that moment killed Ronaldo’s career. Since that moment, Ronaldo was never a player again.’ #mufc
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) November 30, 2018
“Can I have on the touchline—where not a lot of the ones that comment on football, they were there; not many of them were there—can myself or another manager have a reaction of frustration?”
For the record, Sir Alex was criticised a lot, some even said he should have retired in 2002, they criticised him saying Cr7 was a bad buy, Carrick’s transfer was laughed at, they even criticised him for not getting best out of Rooney/Ronaldo. We won 3 PL in a row after that.
— Vinay (@SemperFiUtd) December 1, 2018
Gary Lineker was among those who were critical about Mourinho’s reaction to the miss. “Turn to the crowd and your own bench and shake your head in disgust at one of your own players, let alone a youngster. You just don’t do that as a coach,” Lineker wrote on Twitter.