Manchester United settled for a goalless draw in Saturday’s Premier League match against Crystal Palace, and coach Jose Mourinho thinks his side missed a “big” chance to leap on the league table.
Image shows Jose Mourinho apologizing to United fans after a loss
The disappointing 0-0 draw with Palace came at a time when Mourinho expected a consolatory win after dropping points against Manchester City barely two weeks ago. The Portuguese coach had hoped to join the Top 4 before Christmas break but Roy Hogson’s side sprung up surprises at Old Trafford despite losing three matches and managing a draw from their last four games.
An aggrieved Mourinho fielded top players Romelu Lukaku, Ashley Young, Marouane Fellaini, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata to add height, pace and power to their strategic game plan but failed in all attempts at goal.
Speaking to Manchester TV in a post-match interview, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid coach said: ‘That’s not a match. It’s a very bad result…We lost two points from the game even though we had hoped to recover in these eight matches between now and December…This game would have helped our objective to join the Top 4 but we lost it.’
The 55-year-old continued, ‘We were sluggish in attack. Although the players showed skills, they often lost possession of the ball and allowed the Eagles some chance to recover, regroup and attack us.’
United are currently 7th on the EPL table after playing 13 matches.
League leaders, Manchester City, are first with 35 points following their 4-0 drubbing of West Ham United on Saturday. Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have 33 and 30 points respectively.
