Jose Mourinho Discusses Champions League Group in Pre-Leicester Presser

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has warned the club face a "dangerous group" in the UEFA Champions League following Thursday's draw.

The Red Devils will face Benfica, Basel and CSKA Moscow, and Mourinho has urged caution. Per The Mirror's Alex Smith, he said: 

"I think it's a dangerous group and, if you go to the recent history of United, United lost against Basel, United couldn't beat Benfica in two matches.

"I think also against CSKA Moscow the last time was 0-0 or 1-0 or something. I know there's three places, I never played against Benfica in the Champions League but of course, I know the dimension and the quality."

Per United's official Twitter account, he continued:

Marca's Chris Winterburn relayed Mourinho's added expectation of a tight group:

It was a relatively kind draw for the Red Devils, but caution is nevertheless a wise approach to avoid complacency.

After all, United finished behind both Basel and Benfica when drawn against them in the 2011-12 season.

Meanwhile, the Special One also discussed Zlatan Ibrahimovic's return to the club. Mourinho would not give a firm timeline for Ibrahimovic's recovery from a knee injury suffered in April, but he does not expect him to feature at all in the UEFA Champions League before the knockout stage:

According to Smith, he added: "I don't want to think about it, I don't even ask, speak about it or with the medical team about it, he will be an extra man for us in the second part of the season."

Mourinho opened up on Wayne Rooney's retirement from international football and revealed the former United forward had informed him of his decision before making it public:

Looking ahead to Saturday's clash with Leicester City on Saturday, the manager is anticipating a difficult game, per Smith: 

"I think they are the same team as they were two seasons ago.

"Are they going to be champions again? Honestly, I don't think so because there are many teams that I don't think all of them are going to fail.

"But I think in terms of their qualities, I think they are the same team and they are playing exactly the same way they played before."

The Foxs have started the season strongly, having been unfortunate not to get something against Arsenal in their 4-3 opening day defeat before easing past Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0.

United have been impressive with back-to-back 4-0 wins, though, so while Leicester will perhaps offer more of a challenge than West Ham United or Swansea City, the Red Devils should still win.