Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho believes English sides would be fresher and fare better in European competitions, if the Carabao Cup was eliminated from the football calendar.
Manchester United defeated Burton on Wednesday night 4-1, just days after defeating league rivals Everton. The club are now set to travel to Southampton before returning to play in the Champions League next week. It is a busy time for the Red Devils, and Mourinho feels the midweek fixture will leave Premier League players playing in Europe exhausted. To prevent overplaying his squad, Mourinho was forced to make nine changes for Wednesday night’s win.
“If you ask me ‘could English football survive or be even be better without this competition?’ Maybe,” Mourinho told BBC Radio 5 Live
“Maybe we would be fresher for European competition.”
Although the Manchester United manager wasn’t happy about the midweek fixture, his team against Burton still possessed 11 international players. Despite the short turnaround, Mourinho was able to call on a side far superior to Burton’s.
“If the competition is an official competition then it is important for Manchester United and for me as a manager,” Mourinho said.
“I want the players to think the same way. We have this competition, we have to respect the sponsors, we have to respect the opponents and a lot of us are trying to do our best.
“If we can win it, we win it. If we don’t win it it’s because the opponents are better than us.”
Manchester United will face off with Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on October 23rd in the round of 16 of the Carabao Cup. Eleven Premier League sides remain in the Carabao Cup, and the next round will see three all-Premier League fixtures.
Is the Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho right? Should the Carabao Cup be taken off the football calendar?
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