Jose Mourinho: Man United boss hails Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick for EFL Cup midfield masterclass
Red Devils manager reckons trio controlled the game against Manchester City and also reserves praise for Marcos Rojo
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JOSE MOURINHO reckons his midfield three were key to dumping Manchester City out of the EFL Cup last night.
Manchester United went into the game knowing nothing less than a win would do after suffering at the hands of Chelsea on Sunday.
Mourinho handed a rare start to Michael Carrick, and the veteran was joined by Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba.
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The trio worked their socks off to deliver a result in front of the Old Trafford supporters, with Herrera particularly impressing with his tenacious work-rate.
And Mourinho believes his aces bossed the middle of the park as City failed to create chances, while also reserving special praise for Marcos Rojo after the Argentine stepped in to replace injured defensive duo Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly.
Mourinho told : “We are used to playing with Bailly and Smalling but we have lost both. We had to play with two left-footed central defenders and Marcos had not played for a while but he played phenomenal today.
“We were getting confident step by step, we were starting to trust our defensive organisation and then in the second half, especially Herrera, Carrick and Pogba, they increased the tempo.
“I thought Ander brought the team to different levels of intensity and pressing. Then we started recovering balls and being dangerous.
“I think the fans deserved this from us and I am really happy for them and for the players.”