Manchester United manager José Mourinho was pleased with his side’s performance against CSKA Moscow, as they cemented control of their Champions League group with a 4-1 victory at the VEB Arena.
A double from Romelu Lukaku, sandwiched by goals from Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, gave United a comfortable lead before substitute Konstantin Kuchaev gave the Army Men a consolation goal in the final minute of normal time.
In his post-match interview with BT Sport, Mourinho said that his side started strongly and their attitude may have surprised Viktor Goncharenko’s men, who capitulated in defence.
Mourinho also said that his side may have relaxed in the last five or ten minutes with a view to Saturday’s fixture against Crystal Palace in the Premier League, which may have contributed to them conceding in the final moments
He said:
We started strong, we surprised them with our attitude and we killed the game. They didn’t look as good as they are, but that’s because of us [the performance].
Not so much [of the Playstation football]. I think just a little bit of relaxation [in the last ten minutes], the reaction by the home team with the normal pride to try to score, to try to have a different result and we just relaxed a little.
We had a couple of good chances [in the second half] but I think it’s normal and we have a game on Saturday, so I thought it was normal [for the team] to relax a bit.
Mourinho also praised Lukaku’s goalscoring record, admitting that he was slightly surprised by the striker’s start to the season:
He’s having a great record. We know that he is a very good player, he can score lots of goals, and [when] playing in a team surrounding by quality players, it’s even easier to do that. But I have to admit that he is scoring important goals almost every game.
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Meanwhile, Chris Smalling and Lukaku were both interviewed by BT Sport after United’s win. Smalling praised the side, saying that they showed that they could adapt to tough conditions in order to seal the three points, and set themselves up perfectly to finish top of the group:
I think scoring those goals in that first half, that’s probably the best first half we’ve played all season. To come in that atmosphere, in arguably one of our toughest games in the group, I think, is a true testament to our team.
We’re showing that we can adapt, we can change formation, we can come to different atmospheres and play in different ways and this is what it’s about.
I think we’ve set ourselves up nicely. We can’t ask for anything more. If we can keep up this form we can hopefully finish top of the group.
Lukaku was reserved when asked about his goalscoring record, praising the team and the Belgian said that he was hunting for collective accolades instead of individual ones:
I just work hard, we’re doing well at the moment, we have to keep going. We performed well today, I’m really happy with the form we are in.
I just want to win trophies. Goals are good for myself but I just want to win and we just have to keep going like we’re doing now.
