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José Mourinho believes Manchester United are one of the favorites to win the Europa League, but says Tottenham’s rivals in the Premier League should not be in the competition.
Manchester United, where Mourinho was coach from 2016 to 2018, fell in the tournament after being eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will finish third in their group after losing 3-2 away to RB Leipzig, and will now join the rest of the Champions League third-ranked in the Europa League knockout rounds.
Mourinho won the competition with United in May 2017, before being fired 18 months later, and believes his former club has a good chance of repeating its success, saying: “Of course, now Manchester United become one of the Top favorites to win the competition.
Sunday, December 13 2:00 p.m.
Start 2:15 pm
“Teams that fall out of the Champions League are always strong teams. Usually they don’t belong to the Europa League level. And Manchester United is one of the best teams.
“The group was very tough – Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester [United] and Leipzig, and we all knew it. It was not going to be easy for any of them and we knew that from that group, a first-rate team would enter the Europa League. “
José Mourinho with the Europa League trophy after leading Manchester United to a victory over Ajax in the 2017 final
Mourinho was then asked about comments he had previously made about his disagreement with third-party Champions League teams entering the Europa League, to which he replied: “It is a matter of principle and if it happens to my team , I would feel exactly the same.
“That’s right and, honestly, it brings more quality to the competition, we can’t forget that.
“When you have eight new teams in the competition and eight teams that belong to another level, and they go down to the Europa League, of course the level of the competition is going to improve. Without a doubt. And when quality improves, attention improves. It’s a good thing for the competition.
“But from a sporting point of view is where I think it is not fair. A team that does not triumph in one competition falls to another. Imagine the third team in the Europa League – now there is another competition – and the third team, instead of finish, move on to another competition in the hierarchy of European football.
“In football, when for some reason we don’t make it … bad luck, next season. But that’s the way it is and it’s not a problem for me.”
Tottenham are guaranteed to be in the Europa League round of 16 draw, alongside United, after securing their group qualification last week, and will finish on top if they beat Antwerp at home on Thursday.
But Spurs probably won’t have Serge Aurier, who came to Sunday’s win over Arsenal with an injury, and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, whom Mourinho suggested would rest before Sunday’s game at Crystal Palace, live. Sky sports.
Mourinho: PSG-Basaksehir march is ‘iconic’
Speaking ahead of Antwerp’s visit to North London, Mourinho also offered his thoughts on PSG and Istanbul Basaksehir players who refused to complete their Champions League tie on Tuesday due to alleged fourth official racism.
1:50
José Mourinho believes that the Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir players who choose to leave the field together after an alleged racist comment by an official creates a powerful statement in the fight against racism.
The Turkish team accused Sebastian Coltescu of using racist language towards his assistant coach, Pierre Webo, prompting players from both sides to leave the field.
They did not return and the game will be completed on Wednesday with a new team of officials.
Mourinho said: “It is a very sad situation and we must fight against all forms of racism. It is never accepted. I am very sad because we do not want that in football.”
0:43
Show Racism the Red Card CEO Ged Grebby praises the Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir players for leaving the pitch following an alleged racist insult from the fourth official in their Champions League match.
“The fourth official … only he can express his feelings. Of course he made an unacceptable mistake but only he can open his heart, apologize and accept the consequences.
“He’s probably a very good referee [but] Everyone in football and society has our responsibilities in relation to these situations and if we make mistakes, we have to accept the responsibilities.
“But the most important thing for me is that that game becomes quite iconic. The Champions League, to stop after 15 minutes for a very sad reason, will become an icon and hopefully in the future, it will never come back. happen.
“But as a soccer player, I am very sorry that this has happened in my industry.”
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