Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has stressed the importance of last night’s 1-0 win over Manchester City after his team’s capitulation at Chelsea on Sunday.
The Red Devils were under pressure to win after suffering a 4-0 hammering against Chelsea last weekend and a second half strike by Juan Mata against the Citizens was enough to secure their place in the last eight of the EFL Cup.
Mourinho and his men endured a lot of criticism following their loss at Stamford Bridge and the Manchester United manager admits it was hard to be a fan of his club after that performance.
However, he is proud of his players, who showed real fortitude to come back from a chastening defeat and beat their city rivals and also lauded the Old Trafford faithful for the passion they showed during the derby.
The Manchester United manager told MUTV: "It is real passion that doesn’t depend on results or the moments.
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“It is easy to be a Man United fan when you win the Treble, when you win five titles in seven years.
"But it is not so easy when you lose 4-0 and this is incredible.
"The only thing I can say is that I couldn’t be prouder than I am to be Man United manager.
“Like I wrote in my [programme] notes, after such a bad result the only way I know is to fight.
"We are going to fight and the players did that for the fans. The fans did that for the fans too because they also played this game.
“This was not the Champions League final.
"It is just the League Cup last 16, but it was against City and it was after a big defeat so it was very important for us."
Manchester United have been drawn against West Ham in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup next month.
