LONDON: Jose Mourinho insists he won’t regard Manchester United’s season as a failure even if they lose against Chelsea in Saturday’s FA Cup final.
Mourinho’s side have one last chance to finish the campaign with silverware when they face their manager’s former club in a heavyweight Wembley showdown.
United finished second in the Premier League, trailing 19 points behind champions Manchester City, and suffered embarrassing exits from the Champions League and League Cup against Sevilla and Bristol City.
After winning the Europa League and League Cup last term — when they finished sixth in the Premier League — critics claim United have failed to make enough progress this season.
Losing to Chelsea would be a big blow to Mourinho, but he has no intention of letting the result define United’s season.
“You can analyze the way you want and I can analyze the way I want,” Mourinho said.
“Of course it makes a difference, but making a difference isn’t to consider whether the season is good or bad from one match.
“When I analyze the work I do, the effort I put, and everything we did in the club, I’m not going to analyze the players because of one, of course very important, match.
“I know what my players did. I know the effort they gave. The positive things, the negative things.
“I’m not going to change my opinion on one match, not at all.”
Mourinho has been slammed for adopting overly cautious tactics in several big games as United were often made to look ponderous in comparison to stylish City’s commitment to attack.
Some fear Mourinho — aiming to win the Cup for the first time since Chelsea beat United in a dull 2007 final — will adopt a conservative approach at Wembley again rather than go on the offensive.
Asked if he felt a duty to ensure the Cup final was a memorable affair for the watching world, the 55-year-old admitted he had a different view than many on what can be considered an entertaining match.
“I don’t understand these words, do you think 6-0 is entertaining? I don’t think so,” Mourinho said.
“I think entertaining is emotion until the end, the game open, everyone on the edge of their seats, both dug-outs nervous and tense with the result in doubt.
“For a football lover that is entertaining for me. I think it will be entertaining tomorrow.”
Mourinho has won 12 of his 14 cup finals with Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and United.
His only defeats came in the Portuguese Cup against Benfica and the Copa del Rey against Atletico Madrid.
In contrast, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has yet to win a domestic cup after losing last season’s FA Cup final against Arsenal.
But Mourinho doesn’t believe that will be a factor this weekend.
“The winning mentality doesn’t have to do with record or history in finals,” he said.
“Honestly, I think what we did in the past has nothing to do with tomorrow.
“The records don’t play tomorrow. It’s 11 against 11.”
The FA Cup will be presented to the winning captain by the wife of former Chelsea and United star Ray Wilkins, who died aged 61 after suffering a cardiac arrest last month.
“It will be a very emotional moment for Mrs.Wilkins, for all the family,” Mourinho added.
“I believe that Ray will be looking at it and will be enjoying it.
“I know how much he was loved at Chelsea, I know how much he is loved at Manchester United.
“I think it would be a moment that would unite the stadium, the fans of both colors, a beautiful moment.”
Mourinho: Manchester United’s season a success even if we lose FA Cup final to Chelsea
Mourinho: Manchester United’s season a success even if we lose FA Cup final to Chelsea
- United finished second in the Premier League, but a 19 points behind arch-rivals City.
- Mourinho's side face Chelsea at Wembley with both managers under fire.
Chelsea paid for costly errors in Arsenal defeat, says Rosenior
LONDON: Liam Rosenior admitted Chelsea paid the price for costly mistakes after Arsenal took advantage of his side’s blunders to win 3-2 in the League Cup semifinal first leg on Wednesday.
Rosenior’s team face a tough task to set up a final against either Manchester City or Newcastle following their error-strewn display in their new manager’s first home match.
Chelsea were guilty of sloppy marking for Ben White’s early headed opener before goalkeeper Robert Sanchez gifted striker Viktor Gyokeres Arsenal’s second goal after half-time.
Alejandro Garnacho got one back for Chelsea but Martin Zubimendi then netted for Arsenal after more lacklustre defending from Rosenior’s men.
Substitute Garnacho’s second goal gave Chelsea a glimmer of hope heading into the second leg at the Emirates Stadium in February.
“Disappointed to concede from a corner. Disappointed with the third goal as well because we were right back in the game and we were on top at that moment,” Rosenior said.
“We switched off from a restart from a central free-kick but I can’t fault the players.
“We need to make sure we perform well individually and we don’t concede as many goals.”
Rosenior was without a host of key players, including Cole Palmer, Reece James and Liam Delap, due to injuries and illness.
‘It’s another step’
In his second game since replacing Enzo Maresca as Blues boss, the 41-year-old took heart from the way Chelsea kept fighting to find a way back into the tie.
“We’ve had illness in the squad, we’ve picked up a few knocks this week but what the squad has shown is that they are willing to run and fight for each other,” he said.
Rosenior, who oversaw a 5-1 FA Cup third-round win at Charlton in his debut last weekend, refused to condemn Sanchez for the latest in a long line of shaky performances.
“Rob’s a very good goalkeeper. He made an outstanding save at 3-1 to keep us in the tie, so for me load of things to improve but the overall attitude of the team I liked,” Rosenior said.
“Hopefully, we get a few bodies back for Brentford on Saturday.”
Arsenal are now unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions as they moved a step closer to their first silverware since the 2020 FA Cup.
The Gunners had lost their previous four semifinals across a variety of competitions, including the League Cup last year.
Mikel Arteta was impressed with Arsenal’s ability to subdue Chelsea for long periods, but he was left to rue their failure to kill off their London rivals.
“I have to praise the players for the performance against a really good opponents. It’s a really tough place to come. That’s why I really value what the team has done again,” Arteta said.
“We had two massive chances to score the fourth one and the result would have been very different. At that moment they created a chance and scored a goal. So it is a very different feeling. It’s game on.”
As well as leading the Premier League, Arsenal are also still chasing Champions League and FA Cup glory.
But after so many last-four failures in the recent past, Arteta won’t take anything for granted.
“It’s another step. It’s just half-time. We know the big fight we are going to have at the Emirates in a few weeks because they are a top side,” he said.
“What we’re doing every three days is impressive.”
