Saint-Etienne 0, Manchester United 1: Jose Mourinho defends team selection after injuries leave Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick facing EFL Cup final heartache
Saint-Etienne 0, Manchester United 1 (Aggregate 0-4)
Unrepentant Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho insisted he had no selection regrets after his side lost Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick to injury as they reached the Europa League last 16.
Mkhitaryan limped off with a hamstring problem mid-way through the first half, having put United ahead and snuffed out any hope of a Saint-Etienne second-leg comeback with a deft finish.
Read more: Mourinho can meet first of two targets with EFL Cup success
Carrick followed him in the second half after injuring his calf, but Mourinho stood by his decision to field a strong line up despite seeing two key players rendered doubtful for Sunday’s EFL Cup final.
“You can be injured leaving your house, you can be injured in the garden. You never know when and why. It is the result of so many matches, accumulation of matches, and you have always the risk of it,” he said.
“But at the same time when somebody is missing it is an opportunity for another one. Obviously they are important players for us and not to have them both for the final is complicated, but I think Marouane [Fellaini] and Bastian [Schweinsteiger] are not playing so much and gave a good answer [when they came on].”
Mourinho said it was premature to say Mkhitaryan and Carrick would definitely miss Sunday’s trip to Wembley, but added: “I just say what I feel. With three days, a hamstring and a calf, even if it’s a minor injury I always think that three days [is] no time.”
Mkhitaryan killed the tie in the 17th minute when he darted in between two defenders and used his studs to guide Juan Mata’s inswinging left-wing cross past goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier.
A United team featuring six changes but still including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba could have increased their aggregate cushion to five goals, only for Ruffier to deny substitute Marcus Rashford.
The visitors were rarely threatened, despite Mourinho being forced into another change on 64 minutes when centre-back Eric Bailly was sent off for a second bookable offence.