Jose Mourinho said "nothing surprised" him about Manchester United's miserable performance against Valencia on Wednesday but dismissed the potential impact of them finishing second in their group.

United were beaten 2-1, a result made all the more disappointing given they could have gone through top of Group H following Juventus' surprise loss to Young Boys.

Defeat, however, was nothing more than Mourinho's side deserved, as a line-up that included eight changes and a return for Paul Pogba delivered a sluggish display at Mestalla.

"I didn't learn anything at all," Mourinho said.

"Nothing surprised me at all." United go through as runners-up into Monday's draw for the last 16, with Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich their potential opponents in the next round.

Finishing first would have earned them a tie against one of Atletico Madrid, Roma, Schalke, Ajax and Lyon.

"I think to qualify in this group is a success, never a failure. To finish second in this group is always a success," Mourinho said.

"Before the game I told the players if we win and Juve win, we did our job. If we don't win and Juve don't win we can blame ourselves.

"Apart from a couple of clubs that are clearly much better than the others, I don't think the draw will be significantly different.

"There are teams that finish second that the ones that finish first will not be happy to play against."

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

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First Published: Dec 13 2018 | 9:40 AM IST

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