Jose Mourinho gave his Manchester United squad an extra day off after their last-ditch win against Newcastle United on Saturday. Alexis Sanchez scored in injury time to ensure United completed a second half comeback against the Magpies after going 2-0 down in the first 15 minutes.
The victory eased some of the pressure on Mourinho and means his job, for the immediate future at least, is likely to be safe. United now have an 11-day break until they’re back in action due to the international break but those not on duty were expected to report back to training on Tuesday.
However, British understands Mourinho’s given his squad an extra day off as a reward for their comeback and in a bid to rejuvenate the mood in the dressing room. The likes of Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, Jesse Lingard and Chris Smalling are just some of the first-team stars not involved in the international break.
There were chants of “José Mourinho” from the Stretford End as Manchester United left it late to win their first home match in five attempts.
There was no such backing when the home side went two goals down inside 10 minutes for the first time in a Premier League game at Old Trafford, but just when he needed it most Mourinho and his team came through with the sort of stirring fightback supporters had begun to despair of ever seeing again.
The stadium was a happy place at the end, it had seen the first decent game in quite some time, and neither of those eventualities seemed on the cards when the match kicked off.
In terms of Mourinho’s future the much-discussed manager looked a goner as Newcastle started the game like a runaway train, yet one thrilling recovery later – capped by a winning goal from the much-maligned Alexis Sánchez – it was clear his players are anything but demotivated and far from certain that the Manchester United hierarchy need to make any hurried decisions over the weekend.