Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho was happy with the ‘professional’ team performance, while commenting on Alexis Sanchez's Reds debut after his side's comfortable FA Cup 4-0 win over Yeovil Town at Huish Park.
Here are the manager's main comments on the match from his interviews with BBC and MUTV:
ACCOMPLISHED PERFORMANCE
"I think it was a professional performance. They had the experience a couple of years ago where the team also came here and some of the players had the experience and they knew it would be difficult until we scored the first goal. And if they scored before us, the situation may have been more difficult. The first half was difficult, they were very well organised, they knew what they wanted to do on the pitch. I was listening to their manager and what he was telling his players what to do, the team was really well organised, but we were professional and then in the second half, winning 1-0 we found the spaces that we didn’t have in the first half. The second goal came and game over."
A FINE DEBUT FOR ALEXIS
"I am very happy. I think it’s no surprise for anyone after three years in the Premier League, playing every week, so everyone knows what Alexis is. He is the kind of player you buy and you don’t think about adaptation in relation to English football, so [it's] no surprise for us. He is a fantastic player and he showed that for three years and for the past three days when he was training for us, so he's an amazing addition for us. Everyone is happy that he has come. Good players want good players and Alexis is a fantastic player for us. The question is always which one is going to be out? Where is he going to play? It’s not about that for us. For us, it is the fact that we have a fantastic group of attacking players and he is another one with a bit more maturity, and a bit of experience. He will bring us extra maturity and class. I am really pleased with him."
DID ALEXIS NEED THE GAME TIME?
"I think he needed to play. He didn’t play for Arsenal the last two or three games and his training was not good because half of his body was in the Emirates and half in Manchester, so you don’t train well. He needed to train well like he did that and he needed to play. I was not sure about 90 minutes, I wanted to play him for 60, 70 or 75 and that was good because people start to understand his game better and he can understand his team-mates too."
THE RIGHT ATTITUDE
"I was impressed with his [Alexis's] attitude and I think I did my job well in the fact that I told the players that they should be ready [for a tough game] and never react. At times in these type of games, the top players lose their heads, that balance and they are punished. I understand the referee's decision not to show the red card [for Nathan Smith's challenge on Alexis] because this is a special day and 10 against 11 in that moment of the game, it is probably game over so I understand his decision. But we love the FA Cup, we love to come to these stadiums, but the players do need a little bit of protection. The good thing with Alexis is he is a tough guy, he has a good mentality and I am happy with everything he did. He was keen to play. I knew that was going to be difficult, it wasn’t going to be an easy one for him. But I am happy with his performance today."
THE SKIPPER'S RETURN
"It's fantastic to have Michael Carrick back. It's really sad when you think, in May, his career is going to end as a player. But it's a fantastic assistant-coach I am going to have, I believe. I want to help him be better and better but it's a pity to lose a player that does everything well on the pitch."
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