Mourinho claims Man Utd didn’t play badly in derby loss

Joe Williams
Jose Mourinho Manchester United

Jose Mourinho doesn’t think it was a “bad performance” from his Manchester United players in their 3-1 loss to Manchester City on Sunday.

Anthony Martial’s second-half penalty gave United a glimmer of hope after they fell behind to goals from David Silva and Sergio Aguero – but another from Ilkay Gundogan before the end sealed the match for the Citizens.

“I think it is not a bad performance at all,” Mourinho told Sky Sports. “It was a performance with mistakes and we paid for it. All three goals are our mistakes. Against a team like City, if you make mistakes you will get punished.

“We had two matches away [Juventus and then City], it is not the physical effort but the mental pressure. I think some of the boys felt it a little bit.

“The first one is a bad one to concede and the second one is even worse. The third goal kills everything.

“Everybody has to agree. It is one thing to go to Juventus and play against one of the best teams in the world for 90 minutes. Another thing to beat Shakhtar Donetsk at home 6-0 and be very relaxed. We arrive in different circumstances.

“We cannot lose the ball the way we did. It is not about David de Gea, it is about the way we lost the ball.”