- Title: Mourinho says dropping Rooney not reason for win v Leicester
- Date: 24th September 2016
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER JOSE MOURINHO, SAYING: "Today was important to have fast people on the pitch to recover a team that is very direct in their counter-attack with lots of long balls and people arriving from behind. So we changed the team to play against Leicester with the specific qualities they have."
- Embargoed: 9th October 2016 17:48
- Keywords: Manchester United Leicester City Jose Mourinho Claudio Ranieri Wayne Rooney Premier League
- Location: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA00550XB1A7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Jose Mourinho's reshaped Manchester United destroyed Premier League champions Leicester City 4-1 with a performance that thrilled Old Trafford on Saturday (September 24) and justified his decision to leave out Wayne Rooney.
In a post-match news conference Mourinho played down Rooney's absence from the starting line-up as the cause behind their dominant performance.
"You know. My reasons are... if I don't play (Marcus) Rashford you ask me why. If I don't play (Jesse) Lingard you ask me why, and you prefer always to ask why somebody is not playing. Sometimes when I read you I feel like I know nothing about football, but there is one thing I know, the rules of the game. I can only start with 11, until somebody tells me there is a change with that, I only can start with 11," said Mourinho.
The Portuguese tactician said the changes were made specifically for the Leicester game.
"Today was important to have fast people on the pitch to recover a team that is very direct in their counter-attack with lots of long balls and people arriving from behind. So we changed the team to play against Leicester with the specific qualities they have," said Mourinho.
The shake-up seemed to liberate Paul Pogba who led the way with a polished display, heading his first goal for the club on 42 minutes. Mourinho said Pogba needed to improve his consistency.
"We all want more from him and from the team. I think the last thing that the team achieved is consistency because I think the process starts with playing well in spaces, and the last thing to achieve is to play well consistently, so he has to be also more consistent like the team," he said.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri voiced his surprise at his team's performance, feeling they had given up after conceding the first goal.
"It's very strange because we are so strong in corners, and then they scored three times (from corners). I think at the first goal we lost, we switched off everything. We lost our shape, our confidence, our strength, we wanted to something alone, no, we are a good team when we play together. It's good to forget immediately because we have another match on Tuesday (against Porto) but this is a very good lesson for us because when you concede a goal it's important to maintain your composure, place, and stay calm, because sooner or later we can score," he said.
Three of the goals came via Daley Blind corners from the left as Leicester were handed their third league defeat, as many as they suffered in the whole of last season.
United now sit 6th in the table with 12 points from six games with Leicester dropping to 11th place with seven points. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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