Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho criticised a “man-hunting” and “wickedness” against him and his team and said young players such as Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay were struggling to deal with the pressure.
Mourinho was speaking after United came from 2-0 down at half-time against Newcastle to win 3-2 thanks to Alexis Sanchez’s 90th-minute header.
United were woeful in the second half, and were two down inside 10 minutes, but looked a completely different team after the interval as Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and Sanchez turned the game on its head in the final 20 minutes.
“I am 55 years old. It is the first time I see man-hunting,” he told BT Sport. “I can cope with it. I can live with it. Some of the boys, in spite of them not being the man that is hunted, they are not coping well with it.
“The way we started game they were panicking. Every ball into the box, even in some moments I thought we could score in our own goal.
“It is not easy for them [the players]. For me it is not easy too but I think life is made of experiences. Some are new and some are deja vu.
“This is new, it makes me not just a better manager but even a better person. I understand things in the human nature nowadays and in the industry where I work, I used to love it, I still love it is but it is different.
“There is too much wickedness in something that should be beautiful. I cope with it with some sadness. I am a mature I am a big boy and I will deal with it.
“Marcus Rashford was sad on the pitch, Scott McTominay was scared on the pitch.”
More to follow…