Lovely to see.
Manchester United were in town – Yeovil Town, to be precise – on Friday night for their 4th round FA Cup tie.
The League Two side welcomed United to Huish Park and they had the old ground looking well for the occasion.
😍 #bbcfacup pic.twitter.com/GoD8CIsgz3
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 26, 2018
Being in Somerset, United boss Jose Mourinho was even presented with some local brew cider. As a wine connoisseur, Mourinho looked at the bottle of cider as one might behold a soiled dish-rag. He remarked.
“I’ve no idea because I’ve never tried. I’m not going to try. I keep it but I won’t try.”
Cheers to you too, Jose…
You can't often accuse Jose Mourinho of bottling it, but tonight? 😄#MUFC pic.twitter.com/oWIJh0VWDd
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) January 26, 2018
To give as many young Yeovil fans a taste of such a special experience, the club selected 11 mascots to accompany them out onto the pitch.
And the mascots had the thrill of standing across a tunnel from the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Michael Carrick, Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford for about a minute as United emerged from their dressing room early. With captain Carrick staring ahead – game-face truly on – the United players gave polite nods but there was no mingling.
Special day for the young @YTFC mascots. Michael Carrick not giving an inch though! pic.twitter.com/UljuSLwunD
— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) January 26, 2018
The real thrill for the youngsters, though, came 20 minutes beforehand as both Mourinho and the United subs took some time out to mingle with them and provide some great memories.
Kicking a ball about on the pitch, Mourinho huddled the mascots together for a team-talk before sending them over for a kickabout with some of his multi-million pound substitutes.
Yeovil Town’s 11 mascots getting their money’s worth: a team talk from Jose Mourinho & now a kickabout with subs Matic, Lingard & Smalling
— Sam Wallace (@SamWallaceTel) January 26, 2018
I *think* Lingard and Young are running rings around Yeovil's mascots right now.
— Ben Saywell (@bpsaywell) January 26, 2018
It was great to see the United players also enjoying their FA Cup evening and taking time out to make the mascots’ day, weekend and year.
