Ronald Koeman fumes at Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho for putting pressure on Everton to finish in the top four
Toffees boss says he is only targeting seventh place and the Manchester United chief's verdict is not 'realistic'
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RONALD KOEMAN is fuming at Jose Mourinho for putting pressure on the Everton boss to finish in the top four.
The Toffees are in the drop zone after yesterday’s Old Trafford rout and Koeman took exception to Mourinho’s programme notes.
He said: “I read it and my colleague said about Everton spending £140million and so they need to go for the top four.
“If there’s anybody in this room and outside and sees this as something realistic for us, please comment.
“I’m not happy how we started the season. But please be a bit realistic about Everton. We need time.”
Mourinho’s notes had said: “We are up against a team that has spent over £140m during the course of the summer transfer window, so obviously we are playing against a team that wants to at least secure a top-four position this season.”
Asked what was realistic, Koeman said it would be to finish in the same seventh place as last season.
Mourinho also taunted his opposite number after the game, claiming the first half-hour was not even competitive.
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The United chief said: “In the first 30 it was not competitive. There was only one team playing, another team looking.
“If you go to the next 30 minutes you had a game with two teams and it was more difficult for us.
"But in the last part of the game we killed them.”
It was supposed to be all about Wayne Rooney’s return yesterday.
But he missed his one big chance before coming off to a great reception, then watched as United struck three times late on.
That included an assist and an 89th-minute goal from Romelu Lukaku against his former club.
Visiting fans jeered him as he hit a free-kick into the wall only then to go on and later poke home.
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Lukaku said: “It’s just a bit of banter after the free-kick I missed.”
United have exactly the same record as City at the top, but Pep Guardiola’s men are ahead on alphabetical order.
Mourinho was not concerned by City’s 6-0 win at Watford and said: “Today I didn’t think one single second about them.
“I was thinking about the others and, when I saw their results, I thought it was an opportunity we cannot waste.”
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