After two consecutive defeats against Brighton Hove and Albion and Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United got back on track with a 2-0 win away at Burnley where Romelu Lukaku scored both goals before young Marcus Rashford was sent off.
Jose Mourinho desperately needed to avoid a third consecutive defeat as calls for his head for growing louder and talk about a rift with the Ed Woodward led board was rife.
The Special One, who demanded respect after the home defeat to Spurs and also referred to himself as one of the greatest at his job, said he was aware his third season at Old Trafford would be far from easy.
"I said that it would be difficult in the summer before the Premier League started," said Mourinho after the win at Turf Moor. "It's not especially now. Two defeats are two defeats. We still have 35 matches to play. It's not because we lost six points that this is going to change.
"I knew this was going to be difficult because I knew that last season was going to be very, very difficult."
Manchester United finished second in the Premier League behind Champions Manchester City last season, and Mourinho considered that to be one his best achievements.
United go into the international break with six points from four games and gritty Watford as the next assignment on return.
Mourinho has been very vocal about his feelings regarding the transfer policies of the club in the summer transfer window – he has not been happy with what’s been offered but acknowledges that things can come back on track only if the team starts winning games. United's summer transfers have only been Fred, Diogo Dalot and reserve goalkeeper Lee Grant.
"Win at Burnley. Then win against Watford. That is the target we have," he added.
After playing Watford on return from the first international break of the season, three time UEFA Champions League winners Manchester United will begin their campaign with an away game against Swiss outfit Young Boys, after which they play host to Valencia and Juventus in their first three group stage games.
"We have matches to play every week and the target is always to win. We know that in the Champions League, we have to play the biggest candidate in Juventus. They were always a big candidate but they transformed themselves into the biggest candidate.
"They don't hide the fact their investment made was really to win the Champions League. But even against that big team, we are going to try to win.
"Last season we had a fantastic start and we won the first three matches. We got nine points from three matches, scoring 10 goals.
"Then we lost a couple of matches. Maybe this time we started with two defeats and who knows if we will have a good run that gives us consecutive victories and consecutive points."
Comments
0 comment