Mourinho vents spleen after Hull dent Man Utd ambitions

Manchester United 0 Hull City 0

Only a point for United against Hull on Wednesday night but plenty of whining from Jose Mourinho, who complained that he was treated differently to other Premier League managers.

The Special One transformed into the Stroppy One after seeing his side held to a goalless draw against a team who had lost their last nine away games. It is a result that deals a blow to United's chances of finishing in the top four, and they now lie sixth in the Premier League table, four points behind Manchester City, who thrashed West Ham 4-0.

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"The rules for me are different," he told reporters in what verged on an incoherent rant. "I am different in everything, I watch my team play in a hotel, I was forbidden to go to the stadium."

That was a reference to the stadium ban he received in November 2015, when he was Chelsea manager, imposed after he was found guilty of visiting referee Jon Moss' dressing room during the London derby at West Ham. Clearly Mourinho believed Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger should have received more than a four-game touchline ban for pushing a fourth official last month.

He then turned his ire on Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, seen yelling at the fourth official during his side's draw with Chelsea. "Today, I am told to sit down or I am going to be sent to the stand... on Tuesday, one fourth official told to a manager, 'I enjoy very much your passion, so do what you want to do'."

It was all entertaining stuff, no doubt served up by Mourinho to deflect scrutiny from another insipid performance from his side.

United's last win in the League was the 2-0 defeat of West Ham on January 2 and although they dominated Hull they failed to find a way past Eldin Jakupovic. The Tigers' keeper made a string of good saves to earn his side a point that lifts them off the bottom of the table, moving above Sunderland.

In fact Hull nearly claimed a famous victory five minutes from time when Lazar Markovic hit the post and Abel Hernandez failed to bury the rebound.

"Their goalkeeper was good," admitted Mourinho. "We needed to score, we needed more time to play... I think Hull City tried to see where they could go, the way they could behave and tried to see what the referee would allow them to do."

Asked by BBC commentator Martin Fisher what in particular angered him about referee Mike Jones's performance, the United manager snapped: "If you do not know football, you should not have a microphone in your hand."