Jose Mourinho hailed Manchester United’s performance as they extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 10 matches after a 2-0 win at West Brom.
The Portuguese manager was sacked as Chelsea boss exactly a year ago following a poor start to their title defence but eradicated those memories with all three points at the Hawthorns.
The evergreen Zlatan Ibrahimovic notched his 15th and 16th goals of the season to down the Baggies and extend his run to 10 goals in his last nine matches as United closed the gap on the top four.
It was the Red Devils’ third successive win in the league and Mourinho is delighted his side are picking up victories that the performances deserve.
He told BT Sport:
“I think we played even better than against Crystal Palace because against Crystal Palace we had a little period in the second half where we lost the control.
“Today, no. Today we were in control for 90 minutes which is very, very difficult.
“The players were phenomenal. Organisation great but physically and mentally very strong so I’m really pleased with the players and the result and with the fact that the fans can have a Christmas with hopes that after Christmas we can get in better positions.”
“I know Tony [Pulis] well, Tony teams well, and when you lose control you’re in trouble.
“In any moment they can get free off a free-kick or corner and they score a goal and then the game is a completely different game.
“They are so powerful physically so it was very important to keep the ball, to keep control, to play in their half, to play them away or far from our box and we did that for 90 minutes.”
“We got nine points in a period when we really needed it because we were a bit tired to play well and draw matches. I’m very happy for the players and very happy for the fans.”
On Ibrahimovic, Mourinho added:
“He’s incredible. For me, it’s up here (mentality). His passion, his pleasure to play, his happiness. Fantastic for a 35-year-old.”
