LONDON • Jose Mourinho has admitted he tried to avoid the "arrogant" Tottenham attitude that Dele Alli felt was the cause of their 2-1 Premier League defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

Spurs' first loss under their new manager came against his former club, with Marcus Rashford's brace securing victory for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side after Alli's equaliser.

Afterwards, the England midfielder claimed "overconfidence" cost his team and Mourinho agreed.

"I tried to fight exactly that state of mind," he said. "I tried to tell them exactly the way United approach these matches at home - against Liverpool, against Chelsea, always they start strong with people running, pressing, trying to lift the morale of the supporters.

"Normally, they come from bad results against smaller teams so when they face the big teams, people think it's going to be more difficult for them.

"It's not more difficult for them because the style changes and they feel comfortable against this style of play.

"Second half, we knew what we were going to do with the result at 1-1. After one minute, you concede a goal. We have to blame ourselves.

"United must obviously be happy with the points, and overall they deserved it."

Rashford, who has nine strikes this term and is now one shy of matching his career-best of 10 league goals, was voted the man of the match in a thrilling display that was hailed by Solskjaer as "the best he's had under me".

"He was mature, strong against good Premier League players," the United manager said.

"His (winning) penalty was calm and composed, and his first goal... we know he has got those (long-range strikes in him) and he also had three or four chances.

"It's like he was back on the playground or in the back garden. We want them to have fun, there's nothing dangerous out there - just 75,000 people, wanting to see the best."

The Norwegian also praised Scott McTominay, who dominated the midfield on his first return in over three weeks since suffering an ankle injury, as "almost undroppable at the moment".

He said: "The physical presence he gives us, the leadership he gives us, he also releases Fred."

While the "massive" win lifts the Red Devils to sixth in the table ahead of tomorrow's derby at Manchester City, former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel claimed it was merely a stay of execution for Solskjaer as he remains under pressure.

He told Amazon Prime: "(The result) will give him a few days' peace and quiet for sure.

"It will last until the next game he loses... He is the next one. Maybe (Marco) Silva at Everton is probably in front of him for being sacked."

The Toffees manager saw his side slip to a 5-2 defeat by Liverpool at Anfield, leaving him on the brink of being dismissed, with multiple reports saying David Moyes has been lined up to take over at his former club.

The Reds maintained their eight-point gap at the top of the table, extending their unbeaten streak to a club-record 32 league games.

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