The last Manchester Derby of the 2017-18 Premier League season left some topics to discuss, including what Mourinho said to inspire such a ferocious comeback.
It seemed that the second half of the game was going to be a walk in the park for Manchester City, but a brace by Pogba and the game-winning goal by Smalling delayed the Citizens' title celebrations.
Speaking after the game, Smalling, who was blasted by fans for his poor defending in Manchester City's first goal, spoke about the feelings they had when the Red Devils first arrived to the locker room after the first 45 minutes.
At half time we were feeling sorry for ourselves, we wanted to go out there and play with pride and thought we fully deserved it in the end. The first half was terrible, we dropped off didn’t play our game, and could have been out of sight," Smalling stated.
But it all changed when Jose Mourinho spoke to the players. Even if he didn't have much to say, the Special One delivered a key line to inspire an epic comeback.
"We knew ourselves as players it was a poor performance. He said that we didn’t want to be the clowns standing there watching them get their title. City have been fantastic here all season, but we stepped up and won the game," the player added.
Mourinho congratulates Man City as he urges team to improve for next season
Contrary to what some people may think, Jose Mourinho had kind words for his rivals, and even congratulated them in advance for winning the Premier League title they will win in the next weeks.
"Our challenge is to finish second but I want to congratulate City for the title because they are going to win and deservedly. They gave no chance to the others because they had this season of don't stop winning," Mourinho stated.
The Special One added his true concern not only for this game, but for the upcoming season.
"My objective here was to get points and not spoil any celebrations. The point is can we improve enough to catch them next season?" Mourinho inquired.
The Portuguese boss also took a chance to reply sarcastically to those rumors about Paul Pogba's exit.
"If the accusation from his agent is that he wants to go to other clubs, his price has gone up," the coach concluded.
