Mourinho claims that Rojo was ‘phenomenal’ in derby
Jose Mourinho says that Marcos Rojo “played phenomenally” in Manchester United’s victory over Manchester City.
Juan Mata scored the only goal as United secured a much-needed win over a City side who made nine changes.
The victory means United have reached the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, where they will face West Ham at Old Trafford.
Injuries to Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling meant that Rojo, who has been a peripheral squad figure for most of the season, was called upon.
The Argentinean was named in the starting line-up as a central defender alongside Daley Blind, and his manager was delighted with his showing.
“We are used to playing with Bailly and Smalling but we have lost both to injury,” Mourinho told MUTV.
“We had to play with two left-footed central defenders and Marcos had not played for a while, but he played phenomenally.
“We were getting confident step by step, we were starting to trust our defensive organisation,” Mourinho added.
“Then in the second half, especially Herrera, Carrick and Pogba, they increased the tempo. They started pressing higher.”