- Manchester United drew 1-1 with Stoke at Old Trafford on Sunday
- The Red Devils were frustrated by a fine display from Lee Grant
- Jose Mourinho insists it was their best performance of the season
Jose Mourinho cursed his luck after Manchester United were held to a draw by struggling Stoke despite producing what he described as their best performance of the season.
Mourinho insisted United had improved on their 4-1 win over Leicester but were frustrated by missed chances and an outstanding performance from Stoke goalkeeper Lee Grant.
‘I am very happy with the performance but when the result should be 5-0 or 6-0 and it is 1-1, the happiness disappears and the frustration with the result comes,’ said Mourinho.
‘That’s football. Very undeserved. Against Leicester, the result made more than the performance and today was the opposite. The best performance by far.
‘Against a very defensive team like Stoke, my team did well and kept the ball. Everything was beautiful.
‘One team wants to score more goals and are completely in control. They go there once and score. In the first minute the keeper made an unbelievable save and he kept doing it until the end.
‘We kept creating chances and then by magic they crossed the midfield line and scored a goal, which is very unfair for us. ‘I have to say they were lucky but luck is part of football.
‘My tribute to them is they are not guilty of our bad luck, so congratulations on a good point for them.’
Stoke boss Mark Hughes had a rather different interpretation of events as he drew satisfaction from a valuable draw that lifted his side’s spirits after a winless start to the Premier League season.
‘I don’t think there was any real sustained momentum to United’s game,’ he said.
‘I don’t think there were times we were under pressure until the last five minutes. It was a good performance.’
Joe Allen, who levelled on 82 minutes, was a worthy saviour for Stoke after a fine midfield display and Hughes hailed his fellow Welshman’s impact.
‘Joe was immense and he’s been excellent since he came to the club,’ said the Stoke manager. ‘I knew I was getting a good player, clearly, because I spent £13million on him, but sometimes you don’t understand how good a player is until you work with him day in, day out.’
Asked about a nasty challenge Allen received from Ander Herrera, for which the Spaniard earned a seemingly lenient yellow card, Hughes added: ‘At the time I thought it was mistimed to say the least. Credit to Joe, he didn’t make a meal of it.’
Allen told BT Sport: ‘Sometimes they get sent off, sometimes they don’t.’
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