There has been a lot of talk about Mourinho’s lack of spectacle and style through all his career, especially during his first stint with Chelsea. Well, some things never seem to change, as Mourinho has once again earned some points the ugly way; parking the bus.
Manchester United had the lowest possession percentage in their Premier League history during thier trip to Anfield on Monday, owning the ball only 34% of the time and spending most of the match playing in front of the ball.
However, you can’t say this wasn’t effective, as Jurgen Klopp’s side never seemed comfortable and had several troubles to try and harm David De Gea, who saved the red devils a couple of times after some beautiful efforts from Philippe Coutinho and Emre Can.
Mourinho said his team had to make some adjustments following a couple of subpar performances against Manchester City, Feyenoord and Watford. Nevertheless, given the huge investment made by the Glazers, you’d expect the adjustments to be on the offensive side of the pitch.
The Portuguese boss chose some really speedy guys to lead a counter attack in Ashley Young and Marcus Rashford, who were sent to feed Ibrahimovic whenever they had the opportunity, however, Klopp’s side did a great job containing the Swedish striker.
Having said that, the big question right now is: Was Mourinho right in playing a defensive game at Anfield? If you’re a fan of Manchester United or a fan of soccer you’d jump right away and scream NO, but let’s take a look at some facts that might as well change your mind.
Liverpool has actually scored 113 goals in all competitions since Jurgen Klopp took charge of the Merseyside team, which is most than any other Premier League side during that period of time, so you definitely need to keep an eye whenever you’re facing this fast-paced offensive team.
On top of that, Liverpool current numbers at home are completely terrifying, scoring 9 goals without conceding a score in two matches before Monday’s draw, owning 4.5 goals per game on an average so far in the season.
Besides, Manchester United is currently sitting in the seventh position of this year’s Premier League’s table, and getting a tie in the house of one of the biggest candidates to win the title this season can’t be considered a bad result at all.
Last but not least, let’s not forget the guy that runs this team. If there’s something bigger than Mourinho’s accomplishments is his ego, and he’d rather play an ugly game a thousand times before losing a huge match against his side’s biggest rivals and one of the greatest soccer minds of the world, Jurgen Klopp. United fans were left fumed by this defensive display, but we personally think that Mourinho got his tactics all-right that night.
So even if this was one of the most boring and disappointing matches of the season, especially given all the hype that surrounded this meeting, you can’t say Mourinho was totally wrong when he chose his strategy for this clash and taking away a couple of points from your biggest rival is something any fan should see with nice eyes.
After the game, United’s official Twitter page asked thier fans about Anonio Valencia’s challenge on Firmino and this is how how they exploded:
Can we stop for a moment to talk about Antonio Valencia? That tackle on Firmino last night… #MUFC pic.twitter.com/88cmupaCGa
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 18, 2016
I fell asleep and missed the match. Looks like I didn’t mis anything tbh.
— Liam (@KiIIerKeane) October 17, 2016
Why are united fans celebrating a point ffs. We’re still in 7th place
— Ben (@SimpIyRashford) October 17, 2016
@ManUtd stop tweeting. Don’t celebrate a draw.
— Liam (@KiIIerKeane) October 18, 2016
Love this pic from Goal.
Jose should manage small teams who will try to avoid relegations.@LFC @ManUtd #YNWA pic.twitter.com/90yBlAiAtQ— suresh (@sureshv99) October 18, 2016