Mourinho reveals foul-mouthed team talk inspired Man Utd comeback

Jose Mourinho has revealed that a foul-mouthed half-time team talk helped him to inspire Manchester United to a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace.

Having seen his side fall behind to an early Andros Townsend effort at Selhurst Park, the Red Devils boss was fuming upon entering the away dressing room at the interval.

Some home truths were handed out by the irate Portuguese, whose mood is unlikely to have improved as United then conceded to Patrick van Aanholt within three minutes of the restart.

They were, however, to come roaring back, with Chris Smalling, Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic sealing a dramatic victory to put a smile back on their manager’s face.

Quizzed on what he had said to his team during the break, Mourinho said: “I cannot tell you half of the things I told my team at half-time because there would be lots of bleeping on television.

“There were a few strong words at half-time relating to their attitude and the intensity of the game.

“To come back from 2-0 down away from home against a team that is desperate for points, it gives us a great feeling.

“It's a remarkable comeback, but we made mistakes. The first goal is a bad goal. We started bad once more, not pressing the ball or the opponent and giving them much space.

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“In the second half we were all expecting a direct comeback, and then we concede a goal that is a good goal to show the kids in the academies in the country. It shows top players can concede silly goals.

“But then the attitude, the intensity, the quality, the dynamic, the risk were fantastic.”

Victory over Palace has allowed United to move back into second spot in the Premier League table.

They are still 16 points adrift of runaway leaders Manchester City, and only two in front of arch-rivals Liverpool, but a runner-up finish and Champions League qualification remains in their hands.

The Red Devils do have a testing run of fixtures approaching, though, with the next month set to see them face Liverpool, Sevilla, Brighton, Swansea and City across league, FA Cup and Champions League competition.