Jose Mourinho delighted with 'deserved' win over Spurs as Anthony Martial's 'bad shot' proves 'beautiful'

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Jose Mourinho insisted his Manchester United side deserved to beat Tottenham Hotspur following their 1-0 victory at Old Trafford that put them three points clear of Mauricio Pochettino’s side and keeps the pressure on Premier League pace-setters Manchester City.

Anthony Martial came off the substitutes’ bench to score the winner, a strike that Mourinho described as a “bad shot” that was also “beautiful”, and while both teams managed to create opportunities to snatch the win, it was United who finished on top and found a winner to spark e passionate response from the United manager.

The Portuguese immediately pressed his finger to his lips as he stared down the television cameras, before turning to shake hands with Pochettino, and he could not hide his delight with how his side played immediately afterwards having secured a result that could prove pivotal in the Premier League title race.

“Deserved,” was how Mourinho rated the victory. “A difficult match that could be a draw, two good teams, both tried to win but both knew the opponent was strong so tried to win with one eye on defeat.

“But I think the only team that had opportunities was us. Just a Dele Alli chance [for Tottenham], otherwise we controlled them well and we had more chances to win. A good football match, difficult for both teams, difficult for both players.”

Mourinho added: “Both tried to win but both knew that one defensive mistake could cost the match which happened to them, but that was the consequence of us pushing harder.”

Having lost to Huddersfield last weekend, Mourinho was pleased with the performance of his team as much as the result, and after keeping their unbeaten home record alive this season, he hailed the players’ desire to fight for every point given the extra two could prove crucial in the Premier League table.

“I think we all feel that every match, that’s’ why I was so disappointed at Huddersfield,” he added. “At that match it looked like we didn’t know the attitude that we need for every match, every win. Every point means every point. Today I felt that from minute one every ball was like the last of their careers so I’m really happy with them and the result.”

Addressing Martial’s winner and whether it was enough to secure him a place in the starting line-up next week, Mourinho praised his input this season – even though he has found regular starts hard to come by.

“Sometimes he starts the match and his contribution is good, maybe he’s not scoring but he’s playing very well,” Mourinho said. “Today there was two strikers playing together against three of the top defenders in Europe and they had to do a defensive job of pressing them when they had the ball to play out, which they did. Their work was amazing, then Martial scores with a bad shot and a bad shot sometimes can be a beautiful one.

“I think we played well. Again, to play well against a very, very good team feels even better.”