Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been getting the stick lately due to his below par displays recently. Any hope of getting sympathy from his manager was dashed away, as Jose Mourinho criticized his own player ahead of the weekend action.

The Armenian was slammed by the Special One, a manager who has a history of laying into his own players in front of the press. The Portuguese tactician has accused the playmaker of “disappearing” - a true assessment, in all fairness.

The former Dortmund ace began the season in excellent form, racking up five assists in the first three Premier League games. However, the midfielder has struggled to maintain that level and has thus been dropped from the club’s last two Matchday squads.

“I was not happy with his last performances. I’m not speaking about one or two, I’m speaking about three, four or five,” Mourinho said, as per the Guardian.

“He started the season very well and after that, step by step, he was disappearing. His performance levels in terms of goalscoring and assists, pressing, recovering the ball high up the pitch, bringing the team with him as a No10, were decreasing.

“That was enough [to drop him] because the others worked to have a chance. Everybody works to have a chance. It’s as simple as that.”

Despite the criticism, Mourinho did have good news for Mkhitaryan: the playmaker will return in Saturday’s top-flight clash. Man United takes on Brighton and Hove Albion at home and will need the Armenian in top form in order to keep up with runaway leader Man City.