José Mourinho praises Henrikh Mkhitaryan after star performance

José Mourinho would not divulge where he watched Manchester United’s 4-1 win over West Ham in the EFL Cup quarter-finals, but said he is delighted that Henrikh Mkhitaryan finally seems to be coming good.

Mourinho told Sky Sports it was “a secret” where he watched the match from after accepting a touchline ban earlier in the day for his dismissal during Sunday’s Premier League clash between the same two sides. But he said United’s performance had filled him with “real happiness” and was quick to praise Mkhitaryan’s contribution to a vibrant attacking display.

“I’m so happy with his performance today because it was against a Premier League team with Premier League qualities and characteristics,” said the United manager. “Against Feyenoord we could think, ‘Okay, it’s a different profile of football but today against a typical Premier League team, ‘Micky’ could perform this way.

“We are really happy. We know the reason we bought him and were waiting for his reputation. It looks like it’s coming.”

Mkhitaryan, who was named man of the match despite two goals apiece from Anthony Martial and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, said: "I'm pleased that we won. It was a very important game because now we're in the semi-finals. We've done a good job and need to keep going.

“Playing in a cup final at Wembley is a dream but it’s not the main goal now. We have to focus on the next game and we’ll see what happens.”

United will face Hull in the semi-finals with rivals Liverpool drawn against Southampton.

(Guardian sport)