- Title: Mourinho credits hard work for United's win over Zorya
- Date: 30th September 2016
- Summary: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 29, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER, JOSE MOURINHO, SAYING: "Yes, he (Wayne Rooney) was laughing and saying that he made a great assist but really he gave me what a team needs at that time, which is a presence; a second presence in the box. He's more a striker than Juan (Mata) and Juan went more to the right side and (Anthony) Martial brought after the goal a freshness and speed also to try and kill the game, which we didn't but he was a positive presence too, so we start the game with a very good team and I had on the bench also players to give me solutions for everything, so we have the proof to win matches in the Europa League we need to be good, we need to play seriously because they're good teams. WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER, JOSE MOURINHO, SAYING: "We don't have the best conditions especially because we play against two top Premier League teams that don't play in the European competitions. So, we have this kind of poisoned gift of playing on the Monday that creates us a very difficult situation but we want to try to qualify for the next round. We want to try. Long time to go, almost a month but we want to try so we will play against Fenerbahce with a team with possibilities of beating Fenerbahce." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER, JOSE MOURINHO, SAYING: "I think it's impossible. I think the poisoned gift is already there so what can you do? We have just to play Monday and then Thursday and then Stamford Bridge on the Sunday but before that we have Stoke so let us concentrate on Stoke because Stoke is another poisoned gift because Stoke is not what the table says. The manager is very good, the players are good, the team is good so when I look to the table that's not, that's not Stoke's position and I play against a good Stoke and not the Stoke that's in that position in the table."
- Embargoed: 15th October 2016 08:04
- Keywords: Mourinho Manchester United Europa League Zorya
- Location: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA00551RBTBZ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Manchester United needed the intervention of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to beat Zorya 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday (September 29).
Ibrahimovic, who turns 35 on Monday (October 3), headed home a second-half winner to see off the Ukrainian outfit.
United manager Jose Mourinho had signalled his intentions by picking a strong side that also featured world record signing Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford.
He was rewarded with a third consecutive win in all competitions to lift the mood at the club after they had previously suffered three straight losses.
"We deserved to win, we tried to win but it was difficult," Mourinho said. "They were very well organised defensively as we expect and they to delay, delay, delay which they did and they kept always the danger they had in the wingers, in their counter-attack. So the game was difficult. So we had to play, I won't say amazingly well because we didn't but we had to play well to win."
Meanwhile, Mourinho has described next month's fixture list as a "poisoned gift". After the international break, United travel to Liverpool on October 17, host Turkish club Fenerbahce in the Europa League three days later before travelling to Chelsea for a league fixture on October 23.
"We don't have the best conditions because we play against two top Premier League teams who don't have European competition. We have this poisoned gift with playing on the Monday which gives us a very difficult situation."
When asked if he tried to move United's top flight clash with Liverpool back from Monday, Mourinho said: "I think it's impossible, the poisoned gift is already there. We just have to play Monday, Thursday and then the Sunday.
"But before that we have Stoke, so let us concentrate on Stoke because it is another poisoned gift because Stoke is not what the table says," he added of Sunday's (October 2) struggling league opponents at Old Trafford.
United sit third in Europa League Group A after two matches, having lost to Dutch side Feyenoord in their opening game. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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