MOURINHO REACTS TO BOXING DAY VICTORY AGAINST SUNDERLAND

ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 1ST HALF AND 2ND HALF:

"I liked the second half. I didn't like the first half. It was 1-0 at half-time and I think there was a clear penalty in our favour [when Lamine Kone flattened Juan Mata inside the box]. In spite of that, I don't think we deserved to be winning 1-0. They were organised well, this team came here to close and try to be dangerous on the counter-attack, with the long ball to [Victor] Anichebe to hold, and they did well."

"I did like the second half, we brought to the game the way we have been playing in the past couple of months, playing really well with intensity, creativity and we were dynamic. I like the second half very much as we could have scored five or six. It's three points, 12 points from four matches. We've played well for a long time but points are what we need now."

"My message in the half-time was that the game was going in the direction where we were in control but it was apathetic control. You never know. We needed to accelerate the game, press higher, play faster and short passes with more speed of the ball. We needed to bring the game to a different level and we did that from minute one [of the second half]. With Micki [Henrikh Mkhitaryan] and [Anthony] Martial, we intensified even more the game and we scored the second and third."

ON ROONEY'S INJURY; ZLATAN'S FORM AND POSSIBLE EXTENSION:

"I don't think Rooney will be back by Boro, he has a stretched muscle. Zlatan's extension is not activated yet but is activated in his mind, Zlatan's and the board's.

 He should score more! He had a [chance for] 2-0 in front of [Jordan] Pickford that I thought: '2-0 and game over and no'.

But, independent of the goals, his work is amazing. I saw him making runs against Kone and Papy Djilobodji, young guys, but he was faster and stronger than them. Great."

ON CURRENT RUN OF FORM AND THE NEXT GAME AGAINST BORO:

"We played well for a long time [before recent run of wins]. We've had good performances for quite a long time and now good results.

The team know what they are supposed to do when Valencia has the ball, when Blind has the ball.

We need to improve still but they know. The game against Boro will be a difficult one. Middlesbrough need points as they lost today against Burnley.

Aitor Karanka will come here obviously to try and he is a big friend of mine. You forget friends in football and he will come here to try to get something from that match. It's one more difficult match."