MOURINHO
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has challenged his
players to show they are 'men' following their embarrassing 4-0 defeat by
Chelsea on Sunday.
Mourinho suffered the heavy loss on
his return to Stamford Bridge as goals by Pedro, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and
N'Golo Kante made it an unhappy return for the Portuguese tactician.
United face rivals Manchester City,
who won at Old Trafford earlier this season, in the EFL Cup on Wednesday as
they look to get last weekend's west London drubbing out of their system.
Mourinho wanted his side to have the
opportunity to bounce back in the Premier League straightaway but has warned
his players that he expects a reaction after such a poor performance.
'I would prefer to play (next) in
the Premier League. It's a bad feeling in the Premier League. With the
combination of results the gap to the top is six points,' Mourinho said in an
interview with MUTV after the Chelsea match and looking ahead to the cup tie.
'We have had a very difficult period
of matches. We lost points this week and, even in the match when we played
phenomenal against Stoke, we lost points then. Now we need to win matches.
'I am not saying they are easy ones, but we have Burnley, we have Swansea, West
Ham, Sunderland, Middlesbrough - matches that we need to win and the top four,
the top five, they have to play between themselves like we did this week
against Chelsea and Liverpool.
'They are going to lose points too,
so we are in the run, but there is no way to hide because I think our faces
speak by themselves.'
Mourinho added: 'We are really,
really sad, but again this is not for kids, this is for men and...we have to be
men and work for the next one.'
Former Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata,
who was introduced at half-time against his old club, says the scoreline 'hurts',
but knows United can ill-afford to wallow in self-pity.
'We must carry on. Luckily, in three
days we have a very important fixture, and as from now we must focus on this
new opportunity to get better,' Mata wrote on his blog.
'It sounds like a cliche but it's true: when we win and
everybody praises you it's easy to be united and celebrate together, but it is
now, after such a defeat, when we must remain mentally strong and keep going.
'Together we win and together we
lose.'
United defender Eric Bailly suffered
what looked like a knee ligament injury when he limped off after 52 minutes,
and continues to be assessed, while captain Wayne Rooney missed the Stamford
Bridge defeat because of a calf problem.
Mourinho, meanwhile, could discover
on Tuesday whether he will face a charge from the Football Association
following comments about referee Anthony Taylor prior to the goalless draw at
Liverpool.
The FA has contacted the United boss
for his observations, which are being reviewed.
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