Mourinho claims Premier League table is ‘unfair’

“The problem is nearly certainly that there is a new generation and the message does not go through as well because there are players who perhaps stand up to him and perhaps aren’t afraid to say what they think”.

“This feels to me like the kind of Jose Mourinho performance we’re used to”, said Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher at half-time.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan makes his fourth successive start and top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic again leads the line.

Another blow for United came late on when Mkhitaryan left on a stretcher following a hack from Danny Rose. “Game over”, he said. I want more from some of my attacking players.

“He scored a couple, I think against Fenerbahce and one in the Premier League. It just helped the team – that’s what we want”. On both occasions they managed to score 4 goals after featuring an offensive starting formation with three strikers.

The world’s most expensive player left Lloris watching on helplessly with a free-kick that rattled the frame of the goal, with the outstanding Spurs goalkeeper impressively denying the midfielder soon after. “We compete here (in a) hard game”. His team selection will tell us a lot about his ambitions for this season, in fact.

“So to win against them, you need to play very well, which we did”. For the 69 minutes United chased a goal, they were extremely aggressive in these advanced zones and created several chances from it.

Manchester United needed a big result.

A draw will keep Spurs content, but Mourinho can not afford to settle into his trademark, cagey big game approach. “We are not playing badly”. We played to win, we deserved to win, but we didn’t win.

United’s win, in which Paul Pogba also hit the bar, ended a run of four successive league draws at Old Trafford and took them to within six points of the Champions League places.

He said: “It was an even game, very competitive”.

Mourinho, the self-proclaimed Special One, sees his United team six points behind Tottenham and already 13 points adrift of table-toppers Chelsea ahead of the game. As ever, United could have had more goals.

Bailly’s centre-back partner Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw remain out, but Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia could feature after being rested for the trip to Odessa. Mourinho will be without the Ivory Coast defender when the Africa Cup of Nations starts next month.

The Belgian was initially jeered when he was sent out to warm up, and he was given another frosty reception when he replaced Ander Herrera in stoppage time of United’s 1-0 victory.