Jose Mourinho believes Manchester United’s derby victory over Manchester City can inject fresh life into his team’s spluttering Premier League title challenge.
Mourinho’s side bounced back from a miserable 4-0 thrashing at Chelsea by defeating arch rivals City in the League Cup on Wednesday and the United boss hopes the momentum carries over into Saturday’s meeting with Burnley.
Seeing off City, who had already beaten United in the league this season, was a welcome boost for Mourinho following his side’s spluttering start to the season, but he knows they can’t afford another to slip back into bad habits with table-toppers City already six points ahead.
“After the defeat, we had to play Man City two days after and because of that defeat, the match became more than just a normal cup match,” Mourinho said ahead of the Old Trafford clash.
“It was more because it was City but it was much more because two days before we had such a bad defeat.
“Sometimes people react to bad defeats in a negative way and you go into a bad run of results.
“But in this case, the boys managed to find that extra effort and extra competitive mentality to play that game because it means more than just a game.
“It was very important for the players to win it and to give back to the fans.”
Pep Guardiola takes City to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday still trying to figure out how to lift the club out of their autumn downturn.
Scintillating over the season’s early weeks, which saw them win their first 10 games, they have now gone six matches without victory, culminating in Wednesday’s defeat at United.
While they remain top of the league table on goal difference, City’s swashbuckling form has petered out and left-back Gael Clichy hopes their luck changes soon.
“We gave everything and at the moment we are not getting what we deserve,” the France international told the City website.
“Lately, the results and the points are not on board. We have to keep working and we’re sure we’re going to get there.
“If we are a bit more clinical playing forward and more compact as a team, maybe we can do better.”
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