Jose ‘disappointed’ with players: ‘It’s my fault’

Matt Stead

Jose Mourinho says that he was “disappointed” by some of his Manchester United players in their defeat to Manchester City.

United slipped to their first defeat under Mourinho on Saturday, as bitter rivals City beat them 2-1.

Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho scored in a dominant City first half, while United could not build on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal.

The Portuguese sprung a surprise with his starting line-up, bringing in Henrikh Mkhitaryan for his full United debut, as well as Jesse Lingard on the other flank.

They replaced Anthony Martial and Juan Mata, but both were disappointed as United were overrun in the first half.

Mourinho substituted the pair at half-time, and admitted after the game that he made a mistake.

“Honestly, I had two or three players in the first half that, if the game is now and I know what is going to happen, I don’t play them,” he told Sky Sports. “Sometimes players disappoint managers. Sometimes players give us great surprises.

“We could play with some individuals with some qualities who didn’t give me what I want. Is it their fault? Is it my fault? It’s my fault because it’s my choice.”