José Mourinho was understandably in a bad mood after Manchester United’s loss to Brighton and it showed in a particular post-match interview.
The Reds slipped to a 3-2 defeat to Chris Hughton’s men on Sunday, with the Portuguese tactician having a moan about individual mistakes made by his team which were punished by the hosts, who were clinical on the day.
However, when speaking to beIN Sports after the game, as seen in the video below, Mourinho didn’t respond too well to a question on the team’s communication and chemistry on the pitch.
Mourinho is not happy.
#MUFC pic.twitter.com/QAO1L2oaC4
— Man Utd Updates (@utds_updates) August 20, 2018
For instance, the body language on the pitch from United players throughout the game was nothing short of pathetic. They didn’t look like they wanted to be there and it all very much half-arsed.
Clearly annoyed by the proposed question, Mourinho snapped back and told the reporter that she must be “fantastic in your job” to speak about the chemistry between the players.
In the heat of the moment, Mourinho sounded rather condescending even if the reporter was talking rubbish about chemistry. How would she know? And, did she think Mourinho would have given any other sort of response?
Manchester United’s 3-2 defeat at Brighton on Sunday does not even begin to do justice to the abject nature of their display.
This was arguably the worst of their Premier League performances under Jose Mourinho, and it is worrying to think what might have happened if they had produced this play against Liverpool or Manchester City. The repercussions from the manner of this loss may well be swift and far-reaching. Two games into the league season, United look woefully unprepared for the months ahead.
Positives
It is difficult to identify any significant positives from this game, save maybe the purpose that Jesse Lingard provided after his introduction and Luke Shaw’s unfailing effort throughout.
Negatives
United seemed almost universally off the pace, misplacing passes and taking poor touches, failing to provide cohesive attacking play and isolating each other with bad decisions. At best they looked rusty, at worst they looked very short of confidence.
Manager rating out of 10
3 — Mourinho may be angry that he was unable to add to his central defence in the summer, though it was two of his recruits — Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof — who were particularly poor here. His team, even after introducing three substitutes, failed to gain any real verve in attack and that must ultimately be his responsibility.