Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho will be without Paul Pogba for a while
And the United manager was also unhappy at his team’s performance after goals from Marouane Fellaini and Romelu Lukaku put them in the driving seat.
Mourinho said: “After 2-0 everything changed. We stopped playing, we stopped thinking, we stopped playing seriously, stopped making the right decisions on the pitch.
“We could have put ourselves in trouble but they didn’t score and we got the third.
“But it was bad decisions, fantasy football, Play Station football, tricks. When we stop playing seriously, stop playing as a team, I don’t like it.”
French star Pogba could face up to a month on the sidelines after a recurrence of a hamstring injury that bothered him last season but his potential replacement Fellaini insisted he can step into his boots.
The Belgian came off the bench and played over 70 minutes, turning in a sound display and scoring United’s first goal in a comfortable victory.
After 2-0 everything changed. We stopped playing, we stopped thinking, we stopped playing seriously, stopped making the right decisions on the pitch
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho
Fellaini said: “I felt good and showed what I can do.
“I know my quality, you can count on me and that’s important for me. When I’m on the pitch, I give everything.”
Fellaini must wait to discover if he keeps his place for Sunday’s meeting with his former club Everton, although Mourinho has no doubts he can cope with Pogba’s absence.
He said: “I don’t know about his injury, it looks like a hamstring to me too.
“I didn’t speak with him or the medical staff yet but the squad is for this, the squad is for injuries, for suspensions.
“No Pogba for Sunday? We have Herrera, we have Carrick, we have Matic, we have Fellaini.
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“I keep saying the same, the same, the same about Fellaini. He’s a player with special qualities. He does things that some other players can’t do.
“He gives me multiple areas of actions and positions and philosophies on the pitch. I would say he is one of my most important players, even if sometimes I don’t start matches with him.”
Lukaku marked his first Champions League appearance for Mourinho’s side by heading in the second goal, continuing his prolific start to the season.
The Belgian has now scored 10 goals in eight games for club and country this term and six in six for United. The only one of his eight games in which he has not scored was last month’s win over Leicester, in which he missed a penalty.
And Lukaku believes United still have a great deal of improvement to come.
He said: “After a slip up at Stoke we needed to bounce back with a win. The football wasn’t great but we won. Defensively we are not conceding, it is a work in progress.”
Marcus Rashford struck Manchester United’s third and maintained an amazing record by scoring on his Champions League debut. He also achieved that honour in his first matches in the Premier League, EFL Cup, Europa League and for England.
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