As he's done for most the the season, a defiant Jose Mourinho once again took aim at his critics after Manchester United trudged their way to knockout stages of the Champions League. 

Marouane Fellaini's 91st-minute goal gave United a 1-0 win over Young Boys Bern on Tuesday night that qualified them for the last 16. 

It was another laborious effort by United, whose dull play in both the Champions League and Premier League has gotten plenty of criticism. 

But Mourinho felt the best way to back his side's progression was to point out his successful record in Europe. 

“For some of my lovers I just want to say for the ones that like stats: 14 seasons in the Champions League, 14 times qualified through the group phase,” the Portuguese, no stranger to barbs from the media and critics, said in his post-match news conference.

“Never one of my teams stay behind in the group phase.

“The season I didn't play Champions League, I won the Europa League.”

The goal was United's first in three games at Old Trafford in this season's Champions League.

And it drew an odd reaction from Mourinho, who picked up a carrier full of water bottles and slammed it to the ground.

That immediately brought more criticism from ex-United players Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes, both working as pundits for BT Sport's match broadcast.

“All eyes on me that is,” Ferdinand said.

“We’ve scored a goal and Manchester United have won but we’re here talking about Jose Mourinho’s reaction.”

Scholes, a frequent Mourinho critic, agreed with his former team-mate. 

“It’s always 'I' with Jose," he said. "'I won the Champions League, I won the Europa League'.

"Last time I looked football was a team game.

"Why does he think he needs to remind us what he has won? We all know what he has won, or what his teams have won.

"I’m hoping [the celebration] was a bit of anger and he is thinking ‘I am going to get in that dressing room and I don’t want everybody smiling, because that was not good enough.'"

As expected, Mourinho saw things differently.

“The ones who comment on football, not a lot of them have been on the touchline,” he said.

"For those who speak about expressing frustration on the bench I would invite them to come and sit there as a manager.

"Maybe they prefer lots of holidays in Barbados and they can go to the TV and use their electric dummies.

"That is much more comfortable than being on the bench."