Jose Mourinho Says Alexis 'Almost Broke His Heart' When He Missed Penalty But Scored Rebound

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has said that Alexis Sanchez 'almost broke his heart' when he missed a penalty on his home debut against Huddersfield Town, but then scored the rebound.

The Red Devils went 1-0 up through a great finish from Romelu Lukaku and then sealed the win with Alexis' first goal in the famous Man United no. 7 shirt.

Speaking to the club website, Mourinho said: "I think we had around 80 per cent of ball possession in the first half but no goal. 

"And then go to half-time 0-0 and you feel a little under pressure, so in the second half it was important to be calm, to play and not lose our identity and go direct when we have these kind of attacking players who are better with passing and attacking movement.

"In the second half we had a little bit more intensity, we recovered the ball higher and faster, and then first goal came. Even at 1-0, I felt the game was over because we were so much in control. So I think it was a solid performance; even defensively, we recovered the ball high up the pitch."

Mourinho analysed his side's goals, saying: "Great pressure by Matic, good recovery of the ball, good cross and then, of course, good movement and a good finish [by Lukaku]. [Alexis] almost broke my heart [by missing the initial penalty] but the important thing is the second goal to really kill the game."

PAUL ELLIS/GettyImages

Although Alexis was the stand out player on his Old Trafford debut, the Portuguese manager wanted to praise all of his attackers.

"I don’t want to individualise as the attacking players have so much quality; we had Martial and Rashford to bring to the game from the bench. It will be even easier in the future for them to play together. 

PAUL ELLIS/GettyImages

"Alexis enjoyed the dynamic of the team. He’s a fantastic player but not a prima donna. He’s a humble guy who doesn’t forget where he started. I’m pretty sure that when he was playing in Chile, he had difficult places to play and difficult opponents, so he’s quite used to it."

Paul Pogba - who was dropped from the starting line-up after a poor performance midweek against Spurs - even let Alexis take the penalty which impressed the boss.

"[The penalty-taking decision] was between him and Paul," Mourinho said. "I think Paul was a nice guy to him and understood that it would be important to score, so he let him take the penalty. 

"I don’t think it was a dream goal for Alexis – I think everybody prefers to score a penalty without a save and the second attempt, but he showed his attention to detail and his desire and, for me, that’s fine."