Furious Jose Mourinho predicted Manchester United's shock defeat to Huddersfield after poor week of training
Exclusive: It is understood that Anthony Martial and Ander Herrera came in for the harshest words afterwards with Mourinho still stunned by the performance of his team
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho had been so concerned by Manchester United’s training sessions in the build-up to the 2-1 defeat to Huddersfield on Saturday that sources say he expressly warned them of the potential for a slip-up, though he was still said to be “stunned” by the nature of the loss.
The Portuguese is known to have ferociously rounded on his team in the dressing room after the game, but that anger was only deepened by his sense that training hadn’t been going as well during the week, especially after the Wednesday trip to Benfica that brought a relatively unconvincing 1-0 win.
With a sharpness lacking, Mourinho had sternly reminded his players that Huddersfield could well take advantage of that, and even used his Friday press conference to talk up David Wagner’s side as a specific message to his own United squad, and to keep them alert.
That did not work, leading to Mourinho angrily criticising the team after the game, and it is understood that Anthony Martial and Ander Herrera came in for the harshest words.
The United boss is even said to have acerbically commented on how this was exactly why he had wanted Internazionale’s Ivan Perisic in the summer, to perform a specific role on the wing.
Mourinho is now determined to get the side back on track for Saturday’s tough match at home to Tottenham in the Premier League, and could well consider big changes to the line-up depending on how training goes.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments