JOSE MOURINHO revealed he "liked" Kepa Arrizabalaga's attitude after the Chelsea keeper defied boss Maurizio Sarri at Wembley.
The Spain star refused to be substituted late in extra time of the Carabao Cup final when his manager wanted to send on penalty specialist Willy Caballero.
Kepa, 24, was roundly criticised by pundits including Blues legend John Terry for his actions as Chelsea ultimately lost the shootout 4-3.
But Mourinho - currently out of work after being axed by United in December - praised the stopper's confidence, despite admitting it made him feel "really sad" for Sarri.
Speaking on DAZN, Mourinho said: “The goalkeeper wants to show his personality, his confidence, wants to show that he is there and wants to be at the shootout and make saves - and I like that.”
Mourinho was famously axed my Chelsea, for the second time, in 2015, claiming he was "betrayed" by his players as they continued to under-perform.
But, despite seeming to fall foul of Stamford Bridge player power himself, The Special One insisted he has never been overruled by his own player when it comes to a substitution.
He added “Luckily I never had to go through this.
“I don’t like that he leaves his coach and the assistant coach in a situation of great fragility.
"And his teammate, who was ready to enter the match, and who in the end saw himself in the middle of a problematic situation that had nothing to do with him.”
Former Chelsea captain Terry accused Kepa of a lack of respect towards his boss.
He told Sky Sports: "Once your number goes up you have to come off and show a bit of respect,
“Deal with that after. That’s the last thing the players want.
"It’s certainly not the end of it, [but] it’s clouded a good performance. It’s taken the shine off a good performance, it’s disappointing. We’ll see what happens."
