It was always going to be a tough spell
On his second visit to Turf Moor, Jose Mourinho again left with all three points as Manchester United kept up their unbeaten run with a 2-0 win.
After the game, he said: “Individual performances, top. Collective performance, top. Total control of the game. Very difficult place to play and I think, since the beginning of the game, we had a feeling that we were going to win the game. Even in the second half, closer to 3-0 than 2-1. Very good really.”
He then discussed some of the players who came into the team. Of Anthony Martial, he said: “If the attitude is right, if the brain is right, if the desire is right, everybody knows the qualities he has, so I’m really pleased with what he did for us.”
And Rooney: “I was thinking about one hour. I gave him ninety minutes because he was solid, he was in the game, he was intelligent holding the ball for us, assisting coming inside to play. I don’t even speak about an important goal. A captain for us.”
Then it was the turn of Marouane Fellaini: “I would say three centre backs because Marouane was there to mark the direct football and to give protection to the other two, but I think all three were really solid. I repeat, against an opponent which is difficult to cope with.”
Despite the result, Sean Dyche remained positive. He said: “Overall we stuck at it, but you are playing a top side. it’s rare that teams go 22 unbeaten by luck, even with the number of changes they have had to make. They are still top players.
“The only unfortunate thing from our performance today was that we gave them the upper hand too easily. For the first goal, we should make the foul. That was obvious to everyone and then, as these clinical players do, they make you pay.
“The second one came with a poor start defensively and two lucky moments when the ball finds its way into the net. At 2-0 down it’s tough, but the positive aspects are the mentality to stick at it. You can easily take a knock in this game, but you have to get back on it and I thought our mentality from both goals was good.”
He added: “I thought some of the quality going into their box was very good and there were some good individual performances. We forged enough to at least put doubt in their minds and there are times, against this calibre of team, when you don’t create anything, so that was another marker for us.
“The bigger picture for me is we’ve just come out of a spell where we’ve played seven out of eleven games away from home and in that we’ve played five of the top six. It was always going to be a tough spell, but we’ve come out of it still in good shape. We definitely need to continue performing because the points can twist by the week.
“It’s more important that we continue to believe in our performances. We’ve two really important games here and two more away from home. The stats suggest we’ll get something away, but we have to make that happen.”
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