Jose Mourinho confirms Manchester United are fighting to be 'first of the last' after conceding title to City
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Jose Mourinho has conceded the title to Manchester City - with 13 games left of the Premier League campaign.
Manchester United's 2-0 defeat away to Tottenham left them 15 points behind Pep Guardiola's runaway leaders, with Mourinho conceding his side are now in a battle to be "the first of the last".
United host Huddersfield tomorrow and Mourinho admitted his side now to focus their attention on ensuring they secure a top-four spot, with fifth-placed Spurs just five points behind them.
"The game is important because we need points to be the first of the last," said Mourinho.
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)
(Image: AFP)
"We have to try to finish second. We are in this position all season — we were first for a few weeks and then we were always second.
"I don't remember us being fourth, fifth or sixth. We have been there since the beginning of the season, better than last season in every aspect - points, position, number of goals scored, number of goals conceded, better in everything.
"So we have to try to stay there and it's not easy, because there are very good teams around us. Chelsea are champions again, and a had a fantastic market, Liverpool are a great team, Arsenal improved a lot in the market.
"Tottenham are a fantastic team and are five points behind us, so we're doing quite well, with some negative moments - Wednesday was one. It's very important to do better than last season and try to win something and, if not, do better."
Mourinho said it was hard for him to view United's season in a negative light, given his side would be in the title mix in any other season, were it not for City who have dropped just seven points throughout the campaign.
"They [City] are doing so, so well in that they are not letting the others come close to them, it's as simple as that," said Mourinho.
"With the number of points and improvement in relation to last season, the distance would be a distance that leaves the fight open, and the fight is open for second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth, but is practically closed for the first.
"I cannot say, we, Tottenham or Chelsea is doing badly, because the points we have are very reasonable but City started strong and kept doing strong and managed to win matches they didn't deserve - I give credit - with that last push of the last minute goal, the winning goal in extra time, they managed to do that in a way where that's the distance.
(Image: AFP)
"If you tell me all six want to be champions and only one will be and the other five fail, I think is too pragmatic a way to look at it, because you can do positive work and not win the title."
Mourinho admitted Marouane Fellaini is likely to be absent for several weeks with a recurrence of a knee injury when he came on against Spurs.
"I don't have good news," said Mourinho. "I don't have news, because I don't want to give news based on an initial approach, but I don't think the news is very good.
"He has a problem in his knee. It's the same knee, but not the same locality. It was internal, now external, so let's wait a couple of more days but he's out of the game tomorrow.
(Image: AFP)
(Image: REUTERS)
"It's not an ACL, a complete rupture of any structure of the knee, we are not going so far as that, but we need him.
"The Champions League is arriving, lots of tough matches to play and probably we're going to lose him for a few weeks. Two, three four or five, I cannot say at the moment."
* MANCHESTER UNITED will hold a minute’s silence before kick-off on Saturday, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Munich air disaster in which 23 people – including eight players – were killed.
Mourinho said: “It’s one of the biggest tragedies but also, at the same time, it’s a crucial point in Manchester United’s history - the reaction, the strength, the union after that situation.”