LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 04: Marouane Fellaini of Manchester United holds off Enner Valencia of Everton during the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at Goodison Park on December 4, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini conceded a penalty in the final minutes of Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League tie at Everton, thus drawing ire from many fans who believe the Belgian substitute cost United the game.
Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho brought on Fellaini, 29, in the 85th minute and the Belgian tripped Idrissa Gueye two minutes after that.
Leighton Baines expertly converted the resulting penalty, and fans took to Twitter to mock and express their outrage over Fellaini’s costly error:
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Mourinho, nevertheless, defended his decision to bring on Fellaini, saying the reason for doing so was “obvious” because of his height and Everton’s approach.
“I thought you would know more about football than you do,” the 53-year-old Portuguese added at a post-match news conference.
Mourinho then continued: “Everton is not a passing team any more like they were in the past. Everton is a team that plays direct: goalkeeper direct, Ashley Williams direct, Ramiro Funes Mori direct. Everything direct.
“When you have on the bench a player with two metres [in height] you play the player in front of the defensive line to help the team to win the match.”
United took the lead on Sunday thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s lobbed finish just two minutes before Fellaini’s trip. The Red Devils were hoping to wrap up only their third league victory in 11 games when Fellaini replaced Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The tie marked United’s sixth since the beginning of October, while Mourinho has won only nine of his past 30 league matches in charge of Chelsea and United.
United will next play Zorya in a UEFA Europa League Group stage game on Thursday. Everton will face Watford in the Premiere League on Saturday.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 04: Marouane Fellaini of Manchester United holds off Enner Valencia of Everton during the Premier League match between Everton and Manchester United at Goodison Park on December 4, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
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