STOKE-ON-TRENT: Jose Mourinho wants record-breaker Wayne Rooney to help Manchester United solve a familiar problem after they failed yet again to turn their dominance into three points in a battling 1-1 draw with Stoke City.
Juan Mata's own-goal gave Stoke a 19th-minute lead at the Britannia Stadium before Rooney rescued a point for the visitors deep into stoppage-time by becoming United's all-time leading scorer with his 250th goal for the English giants as he broke Bobby Charlton's longstanding club record.
While quick to acclaim Rooney's "amazing achievement", Mourinho cut a frustrated figure once again as he reflected on two more Premier League points lost and the fact that any chance of United mounting a belated title challenge is receding fast.
Rooney's well-struck free-kick was small consolation for a performance in which United failed to make the most of the chances they created after Mata's own-goal.
"It's an amazing achievement, but the record is broken and now just let him (Rooney) be a normal player again and try and score more goals for us," said Mourinho.
"It was a great goal, and in a team where you lose incredible goals week after week, to get a phenomenal goal like he did is even more astonishing."
The United manager added: "Obviously in the Premier League, we have drawn too many matches, and today you saw why we draw too many matches.
"The opposition scored without creating one single chance, and for us to score a goal we have to create six, seven chances, so it's hard."
United could find themselves 14 points behind Chelsea if the Premier League leaders win at home to Hull on Sunday and Portuguese boss Mourinho would dearly love an end to his side's drams in front of goal.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.