The Manchester United manager made seven changes as Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku dropped to the bench. There was even a rare appearance for Matteo Darmian.
But speaking before the game, Mourinho has said he has multiple reasons for choosing tonight's lineup. United have an FA Cup semi-final at the weekend, so some players are being rested - but not all.
"Is the team selection looking back at the weekend or ahead to the semi-final? A bit of both. I would say for example that Matic is looking for Saturday. But not every player that is out of the team is for the same reason," Mourinho said to 'BT Sport'.
"The message is the same. People in the stadium or at home can be confused with my message. We have a fresh team. The majority of players didn't play the last match.
"It is a team where only Chris Smalling played for 90 minutes at the weekend. I don't even speak about the semi-final. We need four points to confirm a top-four position and that is target number one.
"On Saturday, the objective is to reach the final."