Mourinho refuses to blame Blind for Basel's late winner

Jose Mourinho came to Daley Blind’s defence after the Manchester United defender blamed himself for FC Basel’s late winner Wednesday.

Michael Lang was the hero for the Swiss side when he outpaced Blind to get on the end of a low cross and fired the ball in from close range in the 89th minute of the Champions League group stage encounter.

Blind conceded that he was at fault, but his manager was quick to defend the Dutch defender, and instead highlighted the team’s shortcomings during a dominant first half in which United squandered plenty of opportunities to find the back of the net.

“The only thing I can get from the goal is the low cross, the right-back coming in front of Daley,” Mourinho told reporters, according to Rob Dawson of ESPN FC.

“I know that in the flash interview Daley was blaming himself. It’s totally unfair.

“I refuse that situation because we are a team, and in the first half we should be winning five or 6-0 and that was not Daley’s fault for sure.”

The 1-0 loss was United’s first of the competition this term and denied Mourinho’s men of clinching a spot in the knockout rounds.

United will next look to secure first place in the group on the final matchday of the group phase against CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford on Dec. 5.