Mourinho slams stacked fixture list: 'We have lots of enemies'
Jose Mourinho believes "a lot of enemies" are working against Manchester United as it traverses a difficult stretch of games in a brief period of time.
Lamenting the forces that be, Mourinho suggested after United's meek win over Rostov on Thursday that his players are struggling with a unique and unfair workload. The win followed an FA Cup loss to Chelsea on Monday.
Juan Mata's strike settled the Europa League tie and sent the Red Devils through to the quarter-finals - at a cost.
Related: United sees off Rostov unconvincingly to reach Europa League quarters
"It was a difficult game. We have lots of enemies. Normally the enemy should be Rostov, but we have lots of enemies. It's difficult to play Monday night with 10 men, it's difficult to play now, it's difficult to play Sunday at 12 o'clock. So we have lots of enemies," Mourinho told BT Sport.
"The boys were fantastic. I can imagine some people saying we should be better, we would play better, we should score more goals, we shouldn't have so many difficulties to beat this kind of opponent. But the reality is that we have lots of things going against us.
"We have to fight. Probably we'll lose the game on Sunday (against Middlesbrough). We will try our best."
United managed to escape Rostov last week with a crucial away goal, and more importantly without any injuries, despite playing on a pitch that looked rough and patchy.
But Paul Pogba and Daley Blind departed Old Trafford with ailments Thursday, and Mourinho did not hesitate to use their premature exits to highlight his team's misfortune.
Related - Watch: Mourinho hands drowsy Rojo a banana during Rostov match
"Fatigue has a price," the Portuguese added. "I will remember forever when I spoke to a UEFA delegate in Rostov. He told me if any of our players gets injured, the insurance pays. So the pitch is not a problem. And probably the people who decide the Monday and Sunday games think the same way - if they are injured, they are insured, no problem."
United does not have any other significant injuries to compensate for, but suspensions to Ander Herrera and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will force Mourinho to rely on some of his bench options Sunday.
Progress to the last eight may also come with a price. United is the only team in the top six of the Premier League still fighting in European competition. Cross-town rival Manchester City's elimination from the Champions League on Wednesday means Pep Guardiola's lot - along with Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, and Arsenal - can look forward to a less congested fixture list.
None of those clubs, according to Mourinho, can understand exactly what United has to deal with.
"It's bad for us because all five teams that are in front of us in the Premier League, nobody has international football. So they will be one match per week, like some of them are doing since the beginning of the season," he said. "They don't know what fatigue is, they don't know what accumulation is, they don't know what it is to go home, probably tonight, and don't sleep because of fatigue. We fight until the limits."