Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho praises Willian as 'cream of the crop'

The Brazilian put Chelsea ahead at Old Trafford after 32 minutes but Mourinho’s men fought back, with goals from Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard securing victory for the hosts

Willian celebrates his goal for Chelsea at the weekend (Getty)

Jose Mourinho has praised Willian as “cream of the crop” after his performance in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat by Manchester United on Sunday.

The Brazilian put Chelsea ahead at Old Trafford after 32 minutes but Mourinho’s men fought back, with goals from Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard securing victory for the hosts.

Speaking after the win, the United boss heaped praise on his former player, saying that he “will do great things in Russia” this summer.

Mourinho said: “Do you want to talk about Willian? Top, cream of the crop, he’s amazing.

“In his national team there’s no bad players. The Brazil manager (Tite) is really good with huge club experience. You guys will do great things in Russia.”

Mourinho’s praise will come as no surprise given United’s enquiries into signing the player last summer.

Willian remains a peripheral figure at Stamford Bridge, having struggled to nail down a starting position under Antonio Conte, and his limited game-time has not gone unnoticed, with Jermaine Jenas most recently expressing his “shock” at the player’s lack of action.

“It shocks me,” he told Match of the Day 2. "He's a player who would get in any team in the Premier League.

"I'm talking Manchester City, Chelsea, Spurs. You name it, I think he's that good.

"You can call it a criticism of Conte, he sees things day in, day out on the training pitch, so there might be certain things that we're not seeing.

"But I have to say, the last few months he's been sensational."