Jose Mourinho is not a fan of artificial pitches.
Ahead of Manchester United’s clash with Young Boys, Mourinho made it known that club captain Antonio Valencia would be left out because he could not trust the right-back’s injury-prone knees to hold up on the synthetic surface.
United appear to have escaped unscathed from their trip to the Stade de Suisse as Mourinho oversaw a 3-0 victory in his side’s Champions League group opener.
A first-half brace from Paul Pogba followed by a strike from Anthony Martial was enough to send the Red Devils to the top of Group H but after the match, Mourinho reserved some time to criticise the playing surface on which his players were forced to perform.
“Job done. It was not phenomenal but it was good enough,” Mourinho told BT Sport.
“I think it was a difficult start. They were intense, they were compact and they had that self-esteem of recent good results and playing at home.
“We had to adapt to the pitch for sure but then after the first goal, the game was under control and it was just a question of controlling the game and trying to score the goals to give us the stability that we needed for the second half.
“There was probably some fear, probably some fear of injuries. I had some players who, after light training yesterday, were feeling pain in their ankles and their back. It’s not easy, especially for people who are not adapted to it.
“I think there was also a bit of fear in the duels. People are more used to playing on great surfaces in England with a lot of water, if not rain. The clubs provide water and the football is much more beautiful that way.
“Now I can say, because the game is over, I don’t understand how you can play in the best club competition on an artificial pitch. Not before the match, only after.”
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