Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho apologised to United fans around the globe for his side’s humiliating defeat against Chelsea in his programme notes for the EFL Cup match against Manchester City.
Mourinho, post the humbling loss, felt embarrassed by his team’s performance, as United slipped to the club’s heaviest away defeat in over 15 years and Mourinho’s worst as a manager.
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The United boss used his programme notes as a way to win back some support from the United faithful and a chance to apologise for the shambolic display at Stamford Bridge.
“As the leader of this squad, I want to start by saying sorry to all the Manchester United fans around the world. Sunday's 4-0 defeat at Chelsea was not a United result. It was a result that has made us all extremely sorry for all our supporters and we all apologise for it," wrote Mourinho.
Our fans are sensational, says Mourinho
Mourinho praised the away fans for their backing of the team, “Once again at Stamford Bridge, our fans were sensational. I cannot think of another set of supporters who would be singing for 90 minutes like that when their team was losing. They were a credit to the club and I feel so sorry for them that the result could not match their performance.”
“Even in the best periods of the club's history there have been heavy defeats - I have beaten United 3-0 as a manager and 3-1 twice - but we all know that we cannot accept results like the one we had on Sunday. There is only one way I know to react to this kind of result and that is with hard work,” the United manager wrote in his programmer notes
United edge City in the EFL Cup
Hard work was the key component in last night’s derby game against rivals City, as Mourinho and United pulled off a narrow 1-0 victory over their neighbours to advance to the last eight of the EFL Cup.
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Juan Mata neatly tucked in, what proved to be the winner around the hour mark, when Zlatan won an aerial duel going and slipped a well-weighted ball for the onrushing Mata, to knock City out of the Cup.
A huge morale boost for United after a difficult weekend, Mourinho will be hoping for more performances with the same aggression, swift ball movement, close defending and fast breaks that caused Manchester City a lot of problems in their defeat last night.
United return to Old Trafford in the Premier League after two away trips and welcome the visit of newly promoted side Burnley on Saturday.
