Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he was satisfied with his side’s performance following their 1-1 draw with Rostov in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Red Devils got an important away goal against the Russian side when Henrikh Mkhitaryan opened their scoring on his return from injury, but Aleksandr Bukharov found the back of the net just after the break as the match ended in a draw.
United’s away goal now puts the Red Devils in a good position as they head into the second leg clash at Old Trafford next week.
The Portuguese manager believes it was ‘impossible’ for his side to play better football after producing a dominant performance against the Russian side, considering the conditions.
‘It was a very good performance in relation to the conditions. It was impossible to play better, impossible to play a passing game. We played what the game demanded and we played well,’ Mourinho told the Manchester United website.
‘We made one defensive mistake. We have an open result for the second leg with a little advantage for us. There are no injuries. I think we had a positive result.’
Mourinho says he was pleased with his side’s performance and is delighted to have walked away with an all-important away goal heading into the second leg, but he admits that it was an open game for anybody to win at the Olimp-2 Stadium.
‘We know we need to win or to have a 0-0 draw so the game is open, the tie is open. But, in these circumstances, I think it was a good result,’ he added.
Manchester United will now take on an in-form Chelsea side in what is expected to be an entertaining FA Cup encounter on Monday.
The match at Stamford Bridge kicks off at 21:45.