Mourinho dismisses talk of Tottenham advantage

Ian Watson

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says facing Tottenham at Wembley is “the same as playing at Old Trafford”.

The Red Devils are the designated home side for Saturday evening’s FA Cup semi-final, despite Spurs having used Wembley as their home ground for the season while White Hart Lane is developed.

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino played down any perceived advantage and Mourinho agrees that it will make little difference come kick-off.

“Look I played one Cup final in Roma stadium against Roma and I won, and I play a cup final in my stadium and I lost,” he said at his pre-match press conference in London.

“So I think when you go to this big moments, with this big decisions, semi-finals, finals, I don’t think it’s an advantage at all. In some countries, even the cup semi-final is played with a draw and you play at home or away, not neutral ground like in England and that’s just football.

“So I look at this Tottenham-Manchester United the same way I look Huddersfield-Manchester United or Manchester United-Brighton at Old Trafford, sometimes it’s home, sometimes it’s away. This time is away but I don’t see any advantage, for me it’s the same as playing at Old Trafford.”