Mourihno reveals why he snubbed Martial and Bailey in Spurs defeat

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has revealed why he dropped Eric Bailly and Anthony Martial in his side’s 0-3 defeat to Tottenham.

The duo was not even on the bench on Monday night as Nemanja Matic was back to United’s starting XI. Jose Mourinho made a series of changes to his team after a disappointing 3-2 defeat against Brighton and he had hoped to bounce back.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Mourinho said, “We didn’t play well, we made mistakes, we change the team. The match before we played well, no mistakes total control, deserve victory – we didn’t change the team.”

“If I don’t play [Antonio] Valencia when he’s ready, if I don’t play Matic when he’s ready, if I don’t play [Jesse] Lingard when he’s ready, I don’t think you would accept it. I think you’d ask why you don’t play important players in the team if they’re ready,” he added.

After the defeat, the Special One went over to the Stretford End and stood applauding the Manchester United supporters who stayed until the end, while holding a fan’s scarf.

Mainly a central defender Baily, he can also play as a right-back. Bailly began his professional career at Spain’s Espanyol, before transferring to Villarreal. He spent two seasons at the club before signing for Manchester United in June 2016.

He made his international debut for the Ivory Coast in 2015 and helped them win that year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Martial was a member of Monaco’s squad for two seasons, and signed for Manchester United in 2015 for an initial fee of £36 million which could potentially rise to £57.6 million. This was the highest fee paid for a teenager in football history even before the potential increase. He scored in his first match for United, and was named the Premier League Player of the Month in his first month in English football.

 

A youth international for France from under-16 to under-21 level, Martial made his senior debut in 2015. He was named in their squad for UEFA Euro 2016.

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