Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that his side would have been beaten by Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round of the FA Cup if they approached the game with a different attitude.
The Red Devils fell behind to their Championship opponents at Ewood Park but soon levelled things up before Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic came off the bench to combine for the winning goal.
Mourinho was impressed by the performance of Blackburn, but believes that his side were worthy winners and suggested that defeat was a better result for the hosts than earning a replay at Old Trafford.
"I think the attitude of every player was really good. When I have important players on the bench, I can try to make an impact. It depends also on their mentality and they were more than ready to come with the right attitude for the team," he told BT Sport.
"Blackburn were a good team, better than the Blackburn of the Championship. They had an amazing attitude and belief, they gave us a really good match and with a different attitude we would lose this match.
"I think we deserved to win, but I think Blackburn would also have deserved to go to Old Trafford. But this is better for them - now they can focus on the Championship."
Mourinho faces a trip to former club Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Barney Corkhill
