Jose Mourinho's antics evoke mixed reactions among pundits

Published at :November 8, 2018 at 1:56 PM

Modified at :November 8, 2018 at 1:56 PM

The Red Devils' gaffer came on the pitch after the final whistle, mocking Juve fans after beating their team in the dying minutes.

It was a feisty affair in Turin at the Allianz Stadium as Manchester United locked horns with Juventus in the Champions League tie. Juventus did prevail in the reverse fixture and the home fans expected more of the same but Jose Mourinho and his Red Devils had other ideas.

Cristiano Ronaldo gave Juventus a much needed upper hand in the game and the Old Lady were dominant in the chances they created and the amount of possession they had. Although Jose Mourinho's substitutions worked like magic, the Portuguese brought in Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini and both had a huge impact in the game coming from the bench.

Mata scored a stunning freekick to restore parity whereas Fellaini's physical presence from the last minute freekick was detrimental as the Juve defense conceded a cheap own goal.

Jose Mourinho who was clearly seen cupping his ears after the emphatic win did attract some rage from the Juve players. Speaking afterwards, the Red Devils gaffer revealed that he was abused continuously throughout the evening by Juventus fans and in the end, it was a comparatively polite gesture from him.

Mourinho's reactions at the final whistle angered some Juve players and it is not something the Old Lady faithful will enjoy but instead something that Jose's old club Inter will love a lot.

The gesture that ignited everything

“In beautiful Italian, they insulted me for 90 minutes, I didn’t insult them but the millions of Interisti are happy with me. I respect Juventus,” Mourinho said, as quoted by Chris Winterburn.

"I didn’t offend anyone at the end, I just made a gesture that I wanted to hear them louder. I probably shouldn’t have done it, and with a cool head I wouldn’t have done it, but with my family insulted, including my Inter family, I reacted like this," he was also quoted by Telegraph reporter James Ducker.

Jose Mourinho also did not shy away from having a dig at the FA. The Portuguese was handed a touchline ban after he allegedly swore in front of the camera following his side's win over Newcastle United.

After his gesture towards the Juventus fans he was asked," "When you went out and celebrated, the Juventus players were obviously very upset...?"

Jose did not miss this opportunity to have a jibe at the FA, as he replied," "Do you speak Italian?" to which the reporter said she did not. Mourinho then added, "Well ask the FA, they will translate for you."

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri was not too animated about the whole fiasco which happened at the final whistle as he said, "everyone has their own personal reactions".

"I can't say whether he's right or wrong," the Italian continued.

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The reactions from the United manager raise mixed feelings among the football pundits and former players.

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes claims that Jose should have shown a bit of class. He said (to BT Sport), "This is everywhere he goes. You need to win with a bit of class sometimes, shake the manager's hand. I don't think there's any need for it but that's the way he is."

While ex-United forward Dion Dublin was also against Jose's reactions, as he said (to Radio 5 live), "There was no real need for Jose Mourinho to get involved there. The players were all congratulating each other and some were going over to congratulate Cristiano Ronaldo."

"Then all of the attention turns to Mr. Mourinho, he has his right hand to his right ear as if to say to all the Juve fans, 'What have you got to say about that?'" he added.

The Portuguese tactician though did have the support of former Red Devils man, Owen Hargreaves. The former midfielder said it was a 'big week' for the club and the celebrations were understandable.

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Hargreaves said (on BT Sport), "It's not necessary but it's a remarkable result and it's a big week for United and Mourinho."

It was a famous night for the Red Devils and coach Jose Mourinho, after speculations surrounding his stay at the Old Trafford. This victory against a side like Juventus will definitely change the scenario and will also boost his and the players' morale for their future matches especially with Manchester Derby being just around the corner.