Holders Manchester United were knocked out of the FA Cup on Tuesday as Antonio Conte's high-flying Chelsea edged the quarter-final tie 1-0 courtesy of a rare N'Golo Kante goal early on in the second-half, which now means the Old Trafford club can now completely focus on the Premier League and Europa League as they hunt for a place in next season's Champions League.
The match was closely contested in the opening stages until a controversial sending off to United talisman Ander Herrera in the 35th minute shifted the advantage and momentum further into the hosts favour for the remainder of the evening, as Marcus Rashford was left deserted up front as Henrikh Mkhitaryan made way for Marouane Fellaini straight after the incident took place.
Mourinho quick to praise United's fans and players
Jose Mourinho took questions from the BBC's Dan Walker after the game, while visibly and understandably frustrated, and dodged questions about the refereeing performance by hastily pouring praise on the travelling Manchester United faithful and his players.
"I am really proud of my players, and really proud of the Manchester United fans", the Portuguese boss explained after the Reds who made the journey down to London built on the fantastic reputation the club's fans have already in England by singing their hearts out before, during and after the 90 minutes.
Focus shifted towards the Europa League and FC Rostov
He also mentioned that it's now "time to rest" ahead of the increasingly important Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg fixture against FC Rostov at Old Trafford on Thursday, amid fans agreeing that Europe's secondary competition should be a priority for Mourinho's men as the season comes to an end with a Champions League place at stake. The 54-year-old added on the comments regarding his pride for the club when speaking to Stewart Gardner for MUTV by saying that his players and the fans gave "absolutely everything" on the night.