Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has made it known that he apologised to Armenian star player Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the dressing room for substituting the former Borussia Dortmund playmaker at halftime against Derby County.
Mkhitaryan was replaced by summer signing Romelu Lukaku after just minutes, but his side were still able to push for a win in the FA Cup Third Round.
Lukaku scored the second goal for the night following Jesse Lingard’s superb opener, and Jose Mourinho – who has only won the FA Cup just once in 2007 while still at Chelsea – has now progressed to the next round of the tournament.
Armenian star player Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has lost his place in Jose’s squad, was handed a rare start on Friday night at Old Trafford
The player was impressive at the start of the game with Derby, but was surprisingly replaced after 45 minutes by manager Jose Mourinho.
But the Portuguese tactician, speaking after the 2-0 win, agreed Herink played well in the game, and that he was not also happy replacing the player so early in the game.
He however added that the decision was a necessary one to help his side score a goal before full-time.
“I didn’t like what I did. [It was] unfair.” Mourinho said.