Mourinho praises Rooney, stays level after Manchester United’s third-straight win

Jose Mourinho implored Manchester United to relax after a three-match losing streak included losses to Manchester City, Feyenoord, and Watford.

So it makes sense that the Portuguese boss isn’t throwing a parade after United went in the other direction with a trio of wins over Northampton Town, Leicester City, and Zorya Luhansk.

[ MORE: Match recap | Zlatan reacts ]

“One week, three defeats. One week, three victories,” Mourinho explained after Thursday’s 1-0 win over Zorya at Old Trafford.

“But I was not depressed by the defeats and I am not over the moon with three wins.”

United looked ready to score from the opening whistle, but only found a single goal. Mourinho went out of his way to praise substitute Wayne Rooney, whose flubbed shot turned into an assist to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

From the BBC:

“Since the first minute we were waiting for the goal but it didn’t arrive. You never know what happens and Sergio Romero made a good save when the score was 0-0.

“I had good players on the bench to help change the game. Wayne Rooney gave us different positions and speed when the opposing team was getting tired.”

United has a visit from Stoke City before the international break, with Sunday’s Premier League kickoff slated for 7 a.m. ET.

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