Mourinho says his side should have been five or six goals




Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho says his side should have been five or six goals ahead by half-time of their Champions League defeat by Basel.
United dominated the first half of their penultimate group game, with Marouane Fellaini and Marcos Rojo hitting the woodwork.
But, on the brink of securing the point they needed to reach the knockout stage, the visitors were undone by Michael Lang's 89th-minute goal.
"The first half was the perfect half - without the goals. I cannot complain. I cannot blame the players," said Mourinho.
"I think if we play a match like this 10 times, nine we win comfortably. In one we lose - and the one was now."
Renato Steffen and Dimitri Oberlin had already gone close for the hosts in the second half before Lang turned in Raoul Petretta's cross at the back post.
Anything better than a seven-goal defeat by CSKA Moscow in their final group game on 5 December would still guarantee United their place in the last 16.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

La Liga: I know it’s time to leave Barcelona – Mascherano

Image
Barcelona midfielder, Javier Mascherano, has revealed that his time at the club was drawing to a close. Mascherano joined the Chatalans from Liverpool in 2010 and has gone on to enjoy immense success in Spain, winning the Champions League twice, La Liga four times and four Copa del Rey titles. His contract expires in 2019 and the 33 year-old now features less frequently under Ernesto Valverde this season even when fit. Mascherano is aware that his time in Catalonia is running out. He told ESPN, “I think that my stage here is ending. It makes sense that after such a long time there’s not much more I can do in this club. “I’m not saying it with a heavy heart. I’ve had the best years of my career in this club. I’ll never forget it. “I’m one of those people who thinks that you have to know when is the right time to end a stage. “I would like to end mine [with Barcelona] at the right time, but it doesn’t really depend on me. “I am predisposed to end it on time because w...
Read more

Premier League: What Cech must do to emulate Van der Sar, play until 40 – Wenger

Image
Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger has coached goalkeeper, Petr Cech on what to do to emulate former Manchester United safe hands, Edwin Van der Sar. Wenger believes that Cech is fitter than ever after losing weight and can equal Van der Sar’s record by playing into his forties. Cech has been in good form this season and hope to make it three league clean sheets in a row when the Gunners host Huddersfield on Wednesday. The Gunners boss believes the 35-year-old keeper can continue the good form after Arsenal won 11 consecutive Premier League home games this season. “He gets older, we all do that, but I think he is fitter than ever,” Wenger said. “He puts a lot of attention into the preparation. He is slimmer than before. I think he benefits from that. “He has lost some weight. Not too much, two, three kilos only. But it’s a lot if you want to make a horse lose a race, you put a jockey with one or two kilos more on the back, and the horse is quite big. “He looks after his wh...
Read more

Champions League: Rio Ferdinand blasts Liverpool over Sevilla’s draw

Image
Former Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand is not happy with Liverpool’s team following their 3-3 away draw with Sevilla in Tuesday’s night Champions League game. The Reds threw away a 3-0 first-half lead as the Spanish club hit back to equalise all three goals in the second half of the game. Ferdinand has questioned the ability of Liverpool defence, stating that each of the three goals they concede would have been prevented. “What it does is it brings doubt into the squad and into individuals through personal mistakes – every goal there could have been prevented. “The penalty for [Alberto] Moreno, the free-kick for Moreno, the header for [Ragnar] Klavan, he could have headed that out in a different direction. “This is a crucial time now, the couple of days towards the weekend are the time for the management to really galvanise and lift this squad up to try and take some positives. “They are better on the front foot, but the best teams can mix and match, and at t...
Read more

Sevilla vs Liverpool 3-3 ● All Goals & Highlights HD ● 21 Nov 2017 - Champions League

Image
Roberto Firmino scored twice but Liverpool suffered a second-half meltdown to draw with Group E rivals Sevilla. Liverpool missed the chance to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League as they let slip a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Sevilla. Roberto Firmino scored twice - the Brazilian breaking the deadlock inside two minutes - and Sadio Mane also found the net as Jurgen Klopp's side coasted into 3-0 half-time lead in the battle between the top two in Group E. However, a second-half meltdown, triggered by two mistakes from former Sevilla defender Alberto Moreno, saw Liverpool let a seemingly certain victory slip from their grasp. Wissam Ben Yedder struck twice after the break, heading home a free-kick before converting a penalty, as Sevilla fought back valiantly against the same opponents they defeated in the 2016 Europa League final. The visitors looked set to hold firm through to the final whistle until Guido Pizarro popped up with an injury...
Read more

How Wenger made NFF hire Rohr as Super Eagles coach

Image
President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has revealed how he and his board consulted Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, when they needed a new handler for the Super Eagles. Pinnick disclosed this during the launching of the short code *1945#, a campaign by the NFF ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup which was held in Lagos on Monday. During his speech at the event, he also gave an insight into how Nigeria were able to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. “It has been a tortious journey. Remember we did not qualify for the last two Nations Cup,” Pinnick began. “And as head of the federation, we always want to take responsibility, we don’t want to apportion blame. We don’t want to tell the world that Chad pulled out last meeting, that a country, that won the AFCON back-to-back, are even more eager. After we decided that we were condemned to qualify for the World Cup. “So what did we do? Between the three of us; Shehu Dikko, Seyi Akinwunmi and mysel...
Read more

F K Qarabag 0 - 4 Chelsea .

Image
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has asked for help from the media to highlight "strange" fixture scheduling as his side reached the last 16 of the Champions League with a comfortable victory against 10-man Qarabag. Two goals from Willian, as well as spot-kicks from Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas, confirmed the Blues will finish in the top two of Group C with a game to spare. But after the game Conte reiterated his concern at having to play Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday, two days after completing a 5,000-mile roundtrip to Azerbaijan. Chelsea had a similar turnaround between games with Atletico Madrid and Manchester City in September. "To hear the complaints of the coach, someone has to help us. The press and the TV to underline the situation, because it is strange," said the Italian, whose side are third in the Premier League and two points above Liverpool. "As you know very well the English League is very tough. There are six top teams th...
Read more

Celtic were swept aside by rampant Paris St-Germain,

Image
Celtic were swept aside by rampant Paris St-Germain, who hit seven in the Champions League at Parc de Princes. Brendan Rodgers' side opened the scoring in the first minute through Moussa Dembele, but were then swamped. Neymar scored twice, then created the third for Edinson Cavani, before Kylian Mbappe struck before half-time. Marco Verratti, Cavani and Dani Alves scored in a five-minute second-half blitz as Rodgers' Celtic side  conceded seven goals for the second time. The victory was PSG's biggest win in the Champions League, and a chastening night for the visitors, who  lost 5-0 to the French side  at home earlier in the group. However the Scottish champions still have the advantage in the fight to finish third in Group B and qualify for the Europa League after bottom-placed Anderlecht lost their fifth game in a row, this time  2-1 to Bayern Munich. PSG have scored 24 goals in their five matches - a Champions League group stage record, with one...
Read more

David Unsworth: Everton Europa League loss to Atalanta 'leaves bad taste'

Image
Everton's 5-1 Europa League loss to Atalanta leaves "a bad taste in the mouth" of their supporters, says caretaker manager David Unsworth. Just 17,431 turned up at Goodison Park to watch the Blues suffer a humiliating defeat in the final home group game of this season's failed European campaign. It leaves them bottom of Group E with just one point from five games. "When you put on the shirt you have to play with pride and effort and they didn't do that," Unsworth said. Speaking to BT Sport, he added: "It was a dead rubber but I spoke before the game and said our fans had paid good money to come and see this. They leave with a bad taste in their mouth and so do I." Unsworth, who also branded Thursday's result and performance "unacceptable", made a number of changes for the game, including bringing in 19-year-old midfielder Beni Baningime, who he felt was his side's best player. He has now overseen four losses in ...
Read more

Veteran striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni announces retirement date from football

Image
Former Super Eagles and Everton striker, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, on Wednesday announced the date of his retirement from playing football. Yakubu, whose football career has spanned 20-years, left League two side, Coventry in April having made just three appearances for the Sky Blues. The 35-year-old has made 250 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 96 goals. The Veteran forward has also represented Nigeria national team at four Africa Cup of Nations and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. “I would like to officially announce my retirement from professional football today. “Firstly, I would like to thank God for the career I have had. I would like to thank the entire Nigerian Football Federation and my Nigerian national team-mates for all the memorable years I had playing for the Super Eagles. “I would also like to thank all the football clubs I played for. The managers, all club staff, owners, fellow players and my dearest family and friends who immensely supported me th...
Read more

APOEL FC vs REAL MADRID 0-6 ● All Goals & Highlights HD ● 21 Nov 2017 - Champions League

Image
Real Madrid reached the Champions League knockout phase as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema inspired them to a 6-0 thrashing of APOEL. Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for Champions League goals in a calendar year as Real Madrid trounced APOEL 6-0 in Nicosia. The 32-year-old scored his 17th and 18th goals in the competition in 2017, surpassing his previous best tally of 15 two years ago, as the holders made light work of the trip to Cyprus to book their place in the last 16. Luka Modric broke the deadlock with a thumping volley before Karim Benzema ended his month-long wait for a goal with his first in this season's group stage. Nacho Fernandez and Benzema netted again in a devastating six-minute spell at the end of the first h APOEL FC vs Real Madrid, APOEL FC, vs, Real Madrid, Real Madrid vs APOEL FC, APOEL FC vs Real Madrid highlights , APOEL FC vs Real Madrid all goals, APOEL FC vs Real Madrid 2017, goals, highlights, extended, all goals, goles, 2017, 21 Nov, 0-...
Read more