Manchester United have no margin for error if they are to stand chance of catching Manchester City in the Premier League title race. United manager Jose Mourinho knows this and thus you can understand why he was upset when his team battled Leicester City to a 2-2 draw the King Power Stadium tonight in a match that felt like a loss for the Red Devils.
Coupled with City’s 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth, now the margin has been extended from 11 points to 13. After a road match which saw numerous golden opportunities squandered, Mourinho described his team’s effort as “childish,” and he said that more than once.
“We did everything to win but we lost big chances in front of the goal and not just big chances, also possession moments. I would say childish lost possession,” Mourinho said in a postgame television interview.
“In the end, no maturity because Smalling was in trouble, he comes out of the game, they put Maguire as an extra man but the players on the pitch cannot react and analyze the game and make a quick adjustment. So I think childish in our box and childish in their box. We were punished by our mistakes and what more can I say?”
Mourinho went on to lament about all the chances that were blown.
“We didn’t win because we missed incredible chances. I would say joke chances. In the last second of the game we make a big defensive mistake so it is an accumulation of mistakes in an easy match to win.
“I told to the players at half-time, when the result was 1-1, it was an easy match to win.”
For Leiciester every point gained against a top six side like United helps them in their quest to possibly qualify for Europa League.
Next up for Mourinho and United is surprising Burnley on Boxing Day.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Sound Cloud, LinkedIn and YouTube.