"Manchester United" coach Jose Mourinho admitted that his decision to replace Paul Pogba cost the team dearly. The Frenchman left the field during the UEFA Champions League match against "Basel" in the middle of the second half with the score at 0-0.
Without their record signing, the team's performance stagnated a bit and they ultimately conceded a goal in the final minutes and returned from Switzerland with a defeat.
"Man United" remains at the top of Group A, but the club could have secured this position in the final standings yesterday. Now, it is even theoretically possible that Mourinho's pupils will have to compete in the Europa League.
"Did Pogba's absence affect the team?" - the Portuguese coach asked.
"I think it did - with Paul sitting on the bench, we were no longer such a good team. However, after 65 minutes, it was due to fatigue," Mourinho said.
"I sent out a player as experienced as Matic and thought that it wouldn't affect the match."
"I sent out Marcus (Rashford) to give us more speed and cause them more problems, and Zlatan to keep possession, so the plan was good."
The decisive group match for "Man United" will be against Moscow's CSKA. Both the Russian and "Basel" clubs have three points less than Mourinho's team.
