Jose Mourinho heaps praise on Ashley Young after Basel game

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho reserved special praise for Ashley Young following his side's 3-0 win over FC Basel in the Champions League opener on Tuesday night.


The England international made his first appearance of the campaign as he replaced Antonio Valencia in the right-back position.

Young had not featured for the United first-team since sustaining a groin injury in the Europa League semi-final against Celta Vigo in May, and it came as a big surprise when he called upon for the Basel game. The 32-year-old was a constant threat on the right side of the backline, and he provided a brilliant assist for Marouane Fellaini, who opened the scoring in the first-half.

Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford notched second and third goal of the game in the second period, and it eventually sealed a comfortable win for United on the night. Speaking after the game, Mourinho was quick to praise Young for his performance by insisting that he did his job perfectly with Valencia on the bench.

Mourinho said: "He did well. It’s quite trendy now, teams playing with five defenders, sometimes we like to say three, but I only see them with five. He gave us what Antonio would give us, I think they are both very good. But Antonio, after playing in Brazil and Ecuador and then Stoke, I felt that Ashley could do the job perfectly and he did it."

Despite this, the Portuguese was critical over the club's performance in the second period, and insisted that they were more focused on playing 'PlayStation football' than showing professionalism on the field of play. United will now shift their focus back to their league campaign where they take on Everton in their home turf on Sunday. United are currently just ahead of rivals Manchester City on goal difference, and they will be keen on maintaining their early advantage at the top of the standings.