Jose Mourinho plays the victim card to avoid blasting individuals but admits “incredible mistakes” cost Man United at Brighton

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Jose Mourinho refused to publicly explore the reasons behind Manchester United’s pathetic performance which led to a 3-2 loss at Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

United had two thirds of the possession at the Amex Stadium but only registered three shots on target – the same number as Brighton who were clinical.

Brighton forced United to work for their chances, while the Red Devils were much more polite and seemed happy to allow their opponents to compete.

Eric Bailly was one of many candidates for the chump-of-the-match award after multiple individual errors helped Brighton score three in a 20-minute first-half blitz.

After the game, Mourinho admitted to BBC Sport that errors had cost United.

READ MORE: ‘We have to get Mourinho out’: Jose under pressure as more and more Man United fans call for his sacking after Brighton humiliation

He said: “We were punished by the mistakes we made. For me that’s the story of the game. We made incredible mistakes in some crucial moments. Mistakes that killed us.

“Especially that third goal – we expected to come at 2-1 with positivity – then the third goal killed us off in the second half. Our second goal came too late.

“The week leading up was good and I expected the team collectively to be better. There are basic mistakes that makes almost an impossible mission to win the match.”

SEE ALSO: (Video) Romelu Lukaku puts in Sunday League shift as Man United striker displays horrific control more than once at Brighton

The interviewer then asked if poor passing from United had been a key factor in their demise.

Instead of answering honestly, Mourinho was straight on the defensive and played the victim with his ‘poor me reply.

“I don’t want to go in that direction,” he groaned. “I have to learn from my reality. Last season when I was critical of my team and was debating openly the performances I was criticised for being too open about my players. I will be open when they are doing well.I cannot criticise the desire of my players.

“When we scored the first goal I thought we can win this game then the third goal comes in this incredible way. Then you try to believe the second goal could give us a chance to go for it, but it was too late.”

United must now regroup before their next game, which is a tricky clash with Tottenham on Monday week.

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