Manchester United’s Champions League exit against Sevilla is ‘nothing new’ says Jose Mourinho
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Jose Mourinho has astonishingly suggested a last-16 Champions League exit is par for the course for Manchester United — and cited his own wins against the club as examples.
The Portuguese oversaw a surprising exit at the hands of Sevilla on Tuesday evening, with United struggling to control the game against the unfancied Spanish side.
Wissam Ben Yedder scored twice before Romelu Lukaku bagged a consolation for the hosts, meaning United exited courtesy of a 2-1 aggregate scoreline.
Mourinho made his first major mark on the European stage with a shock victory as Porto manager at Old Trafford at the last-16 stage in 2004.
He then dumped them out of the competition when he was Real Madrid manager in the same round in the 2012-13 season. That was Sir Alex Ferguson’s last European action prior to his retirement.
And the 55-year-old said Tuesday night’s exit has happened before to the Old Trafford side.
He also managed to knock United out of the competition when he was Real Madrid boss
In his post-match press conference: ‘I’ve sat in this chair twice before, with Porto — Man Utd out, with Real Madrid — Man Utd out, so this is nothing new for this football club.’
Mourinho remains one of two United managers to fail to win a knockout game in the Champions League since Ferguson retired.
Louis van Gaal failed to progress from the group stage when he was in charge of the club during his second season.
David Moyes is the only manager who has achieved that feat following the end of the United icon’s era. He beat Olympiacos 3-0 courtesy of a Robin van Persie hat-trick.
United legends were unhappy with the display on Tuesday. Rio Ferdinand fumed at the defeat: ‘They looked like a team thrown together full of strangers.
‘They went out there and played nervously and cautiously, you’ve got to take the game by the scruff of the neck. They gave nothing for the fans to cheer about.
‘Top teams don’t pick and choose when they play. They are consistently good.’
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