Why Mourinho Apologised To This United Player During The FA Cup Match
Reuters / Jason Cairnduff
Manchester United seized a valuable victory against Derby County in the third round of this season’s FA Cup at Old Trafford on Friday evening.
The 2-0 victory featured Jesse Lingard and Romelu Lukaku netting goals in the final stages of the important fixture.
The Pride Park outfit evidently exerted themselves to make an impact in the game, as they found it grueling to even get out of their own half, and were saved by the post twice.
WATCH: 5 Players Who Could Replace Mkhitaryan
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Although Marcus Rashford started up front, the talented forward shifted to the left flank when Lukaku was introduced, to produce from the wide. It undoubtedly favored the Old Trafford outfit, as they possessed the upper hand in the latter half.
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has been out of form lately, was replaced by Lukaku at the outset of the second half. The Armenian expectedly struggled to showcase his trademark display in the former half.
However, during the post-match interview, the instrumental gaffer denied that the substitution had anything to do with the 28-year-old’s performance.
REUTERS/Andrew Yates
The Special One proclaimed: “[It was] unfair [to take Mkhitaryan off] and I told him that at half-time. I didn’t like what I did. He didn’t deserve it, he was playing well, he wasn’t playing bad. He had a couple of missed passes but he was playing well and giving a good dynamic to the team.
“My feeling was just that Rashford is not going to score a goal and because of that I’m not going to lose time and I’m going to play Romelu [Lukaku] so then I had to sacrifice a player.
“Micki was the one that I sacrificed but it’s something that I don’t normally do but I did at half-time and apologized to him in front of other people because he didn’t deserve it.”
Regardless, the choice of the boss benefitted the Mancunian side, as the Belgian striker was responsible for extending his side’s lead and sealing the win.
Written by Hritwik NE 
Passionate writer, coated in Blue.