'Defensively awful': Mourinho relief after United late show

BOURNEMOUTH: Jose Mourinho admitted he was the "luckiest manager in the Premier League" as Manchester United recovered from a disastrous defensive display to beat Bournemouth 2-1 on Saturday.

Mourinho was furious with United's sloppy first half at Dean Court as Callum Wilson fired Bournemouth ahead.

United could have been even further behind before the break as Bournemouth wasted a host of chances to increase their lead.

But Anthony Martial equalised and Mourinho steered United back on course with a stern half-time team-talk and the 56th minute introduction of Marcus Rashford and Ander Herrera.

The changes allowed United a measure of control in the second half and Rashford snatched the winner deep into stoppage-time.

"It was the whole first half. I said at half-time I was the luckiest manager in the Premier League in a half when the score should be like 6-2," Mourinho said.

"We were defensively awful. As a team we didn't press or do any of the work we did in the week. People watching this game will not believe how hard we worked this week.

"The first half was a disaster. The second half was much better. We created lots of chances and deserved to score before the 92nd minute."

United have now won three of their last four Premier League games to get back on track after a dismal run piled pressure on Mourinho.

But Mourinho is still concerned by the lethargic manner in which his players are starting games.

"I can't understand why we started slow. My coaches said it was the best warm-up of the season," Mourinho said.

"I think a few mistakes create instability. I love the song, 'attack, attack, attack' but you need to have stability when you lose the ball.

"It happened again against a good team but we were prepared for everything.

"I really can't understand the kind of mentality that brings me more white hair!"