Mourinho Mad at Aguero After Derby Deadlock

Mourinho Mad at Aguero After Derby Deadlock

Manchester City and neighbours, United both lost pace in the race for a top four finish after Thursday’s stalemate in the derby, but the big talking point was the red card for United midfielder Marouane Fellaini after a clash with Sergio Aguero – an incident United manager Jose Mourinho has blamed on the Argentine.

Belgian midfielder Fellaini was given his marching orders by referee Martin Atkinson for headbutting Aguero six minutes from time after the City striker got to his feet following a foul.

Reacting to the incident which almost swung the tie, Mourinho conceded some of the fault lay with Fellaini but added Aguero was savvy enough to exploit the incident, ESPN writes.

“I didn’t watch the Fellaini incident on TV but I spoke with Fellaini,” he said after the match.

“He thinks it was a red card because he is Fellaini. I spoke to Martin (Atkinson, referee) – he thinks it was a red card.

“I can guess it’s a bit of a red card and a bit of a very smart, very experienced Argentinian player.”

Mourinho, whose side extended their unbeaten run to 24, bemoaned the absence of injured Frenchman Paul Pogba as United struggled in the middle of the park.

“They started strong, pushed hard and I promised not to speak about players who weren’t playing so I won’t, but we just didn’t have the quality of players in midfield – we were missing quality there.”

City, who had a goal in stoppage time from the returning Gabriel Jesus ruled out for offside, dominated most of the football but lacked the decisive touch.

The shared points left Manchester City occupying the fourth and final Champions League spot with United in fifth a further point back, however, both have a game in hand on third-placed Liverpool who are just a point clear of City.