SPORTS Saturday, February 18, 2017 23 Mourinho upbraids unfocused Manchester United’s Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic Man United Manchester and when asked why, he said it had been rather be playing in the Champions League anchester United down to a “lack of concentration”. than its sister competition, but he said that manager Jose “I had the feeling immediately in the was no excuse for United’s lack of focus. MMourinho accused dressing room: too noisy, too funny, too “I know the Champions League is his players of not relaxed,” he told reporters. the competition everyone wants to play, showing an “Then my assistants had the feeling in the everyone wants to win,” he said. appropriate warm-up, with some of the guys not really “But we don’t play the Champions level focused on getting the right adrenaline in League, we play the Europa League. We had their bodies. the group phase a little bit like this. When we o f “The game started and the first thing we needed to win, we did it. mental did was a back-pass (by Eric Bailly) to the “When the focus is there, we answered. preparation striker to be face-to-face with Sergio Tonight in the first half, it was too relaxed.” during their 3-0 (Romero, the United goalkeeper). Ibrahimovic, 35, took his tally of goals Europa League victory “Lack of concentration. When you against Saint-Etienne to 17 in 14 games, over Saint-Etienne. don’t have it, it’s difficult to recover it. In but the 17th hat-trick of his career was also Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s hat- the first half it was hard. probably the most scruffy. (AFP) trick earned United a handsome win “Even myself on the in Thursday’s last 32 first-leg match at touchline, it was difficult, the Manchester United’s Old Trafford, but the scoreline did not communication. I needed Portuguese manager Jose first leg results on Thursday: tell the full story. half-time. We were lucky to Mourinho At Alkmaar, Saint-Etienne finished the first half be winning 1-0. After that, strongly and substitute Nolan Roux different story, different AZ Alkmaar (NED) 1 (FRA) 4 spurned a glorious chance to level two result.” At Moenchengladbach, Germany minutes before Ibrahimovic netted Mourinho has made no Borussia Moenchengladbach (GER) 0 Fiorentina (ITA) 1 United’s second goal in the 75th secret of the fact he would At Ghent, Belgium minute. Gent (BEL) 1 Tottenham Hotspur (ENG) 0 Mourinho said At Vigo, Spain United’s first half Celta Vigo (ESP) 0 Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR) 1 Italian Serie A: had been “so bad” At Villarreal, Spain Juventus 3 Palermo 0 Villarreal (ESP) 0 Roma (ITA) 4 German Bundesliga: At Manchester, England Augsburg 1 Bayer Leverkusen 3 Manchester United (ENG) 3 Saint-Etienne (FRA) 0 Spanish : At Bilbao, Spain Granada 4 0 (ESP) 3 APOEL (CYP) 2 French : Bastia 1 Monaco 1 Scores at the time of closing Real Madrid’s Welsh for- ward

Madrid quality, pace, we know the However, Kiko areth damage he can do to the Casilla will start in Bale opponents. “We are happy goal, whilst Zidane willG and he is even more so to confirmed that Alvaro make his return from a three-month get back playing. He is desperate to return.” Morata will finally get injury layoff when Real Madrid host Madrid can move four points clear of his chance to start in Espanyol on Saturday, coach Zinedine Barcelona with a game in hand at the place of Benzema up Zidane confirmed yesterday. top of La Liga should they record a 10th front. However, Zidane has handed a consecutive victory over Espanyol. Spanish weekend off to a host of other key However, after the demands of an intense international Morata men as Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, 3-1 Champions League last 16 first leg win has been linked and Keylor Navas were over Napoli in midweek and a La Liga trip with a move away not included in the Frenchman’s 19-man to Valencia to come on Wednesday, Zidane from the Bernabeu squad.Bale hasn’t featured since suffering insisted he didn’t want to take any risks come the end of ankle ligament damage in November and with the fitness of Navas, Ramos, Modric the after is expected to be eased back into action as or Benzema. becoming frustrated a second-half substitute. Navas’s absence means Zidane’s son Luca at his lack of action “Bale is with us. He will be in the squad is included in the squad as the third choice since rejoining the and the idea is that he has minutes,” goalkeeper. Zidane has already handed a European champions Zidane said yesterday. “He is first-team debut to his eldest son Enzo this from Juventus in an important player. He has season. June. (AFP)