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LONDON, United Kingdom – Jose Mourinho played down an ugly touchline melee after watching his Manchester United side concede a heartbreaking late equalizer as Chelsea preserved their unbeaten Premier League record on Saturday, October 20.
Ross Barkley scored in the sixth minute of injury time to level the match at 2-2 after Anthony Martial had scored twice in the 2nd half to cancel out Antonio Rudiger’s opener.
Mourinho, though, played down a melee involving players and staff from both sides after Barkley’s late strike.
Mourinho had to be restrained by stewards when one of Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri’s backroom staff, Marco Ianni, ran in front of the Portuguese to celebrate as the hosts salvaged their unbeaten start under the Italian.
The United manager then also gestured with three fingers towards the Chelsea fans in reference to the 3 Premier League titles he won for the club.
When asked about the incident, former Chelsea boss Mourinho said: “Oh come on, I can tell you that 97 minutes of the game was so good that you have to focus on that.
“I did not get respect back from Chelsea (fans) but that is not my responsibility. What I did here today I will do in Madrid, in Milan, in Porto, the reaction from the fans is not up to me.
“I am not annoyed with anything. What happened with (Maurizio) Sarri’s assistant, Sarri was the first one to come to me and say he will resolve it.
“The assistant has already come to me and apologized, I told him to forget it. I have made a lot of mistakes in my career.”
José Mourinho lost it when former club Chelsea equalized in stoppage time and celebrated in front of the Manchester United bench
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 20, 2018
(via @SkySportsPL) pic.twitter.com/0A3VUM5ZsN
Mourinho, who won 3 Premier League titles in two spells at Chelsea, said United was the better side.
“We were the best team on the pitch. If you say before the game that one point at Stamford Bridge is a good result, it is so difficult to win here but after the game with the way the game was it is an awful result for us and a phenomenal result for them.”
“I hope every referee does the same as Mike Dean and gives six minutes,” he added. “I don’t know where they came from. We always tried to play, there was no time-wasting.”
The result put Chelsea top of the table before the later Saturday games but left United well off the pace.
Sarri said his side lost out to United in the physical battle as the game wore on.
“I am disappointed with the last 30 minutes,” he told the BBC. “We could win but at the end one point is enough.
“We were not organized for the long ball, we usually play with short passes so we were not organized for this in the last half hour. This is not our football. I prefer to play our football for 90 minutes.
“I didn’t see what happened but I have spoken to Jose Mourinho. I understood that we were in the wrong side of the situation. I have spoken to a member of my staff and have dealt with this immediately.” – Rappler.com
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