Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has rated fellow English club’s chances of winning the Champions League. The “Special One” has come out in an interview saying he believes it is too early to say whether his Premier League rivals are serious contenders in Europe.

Pep’s Manchester City and Pochetinno’s Tottenham have already qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League in pretty emphatic style. Both sides having won their respective groups against top opposition after just 4 games. While Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea look almost certain to follow suit stranger things have happened but it seems likely all 5 Premier League teams will make the next round.

But no English side has won the Champions League for over half a decade, and Mourinho is not entirely convinced that we will be seeing another English winner anytime soon.

Asked whether the Premier League could be on the verge of a successful era in Europe, the United manager told the Daily Mirror: “No, I don’t think so.

“I don’t think so because I always say the Champions League only starts in February and in February, the English teams are after December and January where we can play 20 matches over two months and the Germans, the French, the Spanish, the Italians, they all come from a winter break.

“So I think they arrive in better conditions than the English teams.

“It’s also a fact that any match you play in this country, if you don’t go strong, you lose.

“We go to Bristol [City] in the [EFL Cup] quarter-final and if you don’t go with a strong team, you lose. That’s as simple as that.

“In other countries, between the top teams and the others, there is huge difference and not just in terms of talent and potential but also in terms of mentality.

“Here, the smaller teams want to win, want to compete, want to have the courage to try and get a result.”
[Quotes via Metro]