Moving into fifth should hardly be cause for celebration for a club of United's pedigree, nor what Mourinho had in mind when he embarked on this season planning a title challenge, but it was a step in the right direction at the end of another heavy week. Mourinho predicted a United defeat here at the Riverside. He had muttered darkly about 'many enemies' conspiring to add to the burden of a congested fixture list.
A noon kick-off on Sunday meant this third game in seven days started 62 hours after the end of Thursday's Europa League win over Rostov, which followed Monday's FA Cup defeat at Chelsea.
So Mourinho was understandably delighted that United came through a far tougher test than the scoreline suggests. Then there was the satisfaction of beating the club that sacked his old friend Aitor Karanka earlier in the week.
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