clash of heads with Marouane Fellaini played a
role in the Manchester United midfielder's red card.
Just 19 seconds after being booked for a tackle on
the Manchester City striker, Fellaini was penalised
for another foul on Aguero, who he headbutted in
the aftermath.
Referee Martin Atkinson consequently showed the
Belgium international a straight red card in the
84th minute, with United having to hold on for a
0-0 draw.
While Mourinho said Fellaini was partly to blame
for his sending off, he suggested Aguero's reaction
helped convince Atkinson to dismiss the midfielder.
"I didn't watch it on TV. I spoke with Marouane and
he is very disappointed, he feels it is a red card
because he is Marouane Fellaini," the United
manager told Sky Sports.
"I spoke with Martin who said in his opinion it was
a red card. I didn't watch but I can guess it is a bit
of a red card and a bit of a very smart, very
experienced Argentinian player."
Mourinho was pleased with United's first-half
display despite the absence of players including
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and
Marcos Rojo, but acknowledged they had to play
for a point as their attacking threat dwindled.
He said: "We wanted to do more in terms of
attacking and to explore more of the counter-
attack. In the first half we had good control but the
second became more difficult.
"It was even worse with one player less so we had
to make a decision to fight hard to take a point.
"They started strong [in the second half], pushed
hard and at some times we could not move the ball
well. I promised not to speak about the players
who weren't playing so I won't.... but we just
missed a little bit of that quality in midfield to
connect with the attacking players."
United are now unbeaten in 24 successive Premier
League matches – equalling their longest run in a
single top-flight season – and Mourinho praised
his team's resilience.
"We showed exactly that against a good strong
team that wants to win at home, playing with 10
men," he said.
"I didn't have any midfielders on the bench. The
team is in trouble, the team has a lot of problems
and to play a derby like we did shows resilience
and character from the players."
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