Manchester United manager’s late show mindset, relying on exploiting errors, reaped rewards against Tottenham but he risks denting fortune-teller reputation‘Sometimes, it was as though he could see the future,” the former goalkeeper Vítor Baía said of José Mourinho, who coached him at Porto. “I remember a specific incident against Benfica, when throughout the week he prepared us for what we should do after we scored a goal … He told us that [the Benfica coach José Antonio] Camacho would make a specific substitution and change his tactics, which was what happened. So we already knew what to do when he did it; we were completely prepared for it. For the same match, we also prepared to play with 10 players...
There is an admirable side to the Manchester United manager’s uncompromising approach as he ignored criticism and set up his team to wear down TottenhamAnd then, of course, the sun also rises. On a boisterous, slightly wild day at Old Trafford, Manchester United produced a performance and a result that embodied the other side, the best side of this defensively voracious José Mourinho team. Related: Manchester United’s Anthony Martial rises to occasion to sink Spurs Related: José Mourinho tells critics to ‘calm down’ after Manchester United beat Spurs Continue reading...
Manchester United manager’s often defensive tactics and desire for total control of his players could stem from a sense of being an outsiderIt is a sad indication of the recent state of Liverpool that over the past couple of weeks they have seemed more significant as a test case for others than in and of themselves. José Mourinho took his Manchester United side to Anfield and, as he waited and waited and waited for the game “to break”, the watching world waited and waited and waited for something vaguely resembling action to break out. It didn’t and the game finished 0-0. Given Liverpool’s vulnerabilities and given Manchester City’s remarkable form, that felt even at the time like two points needlessly...
Where London clubs would once battle with Merseyside for supremacy, the challenge has shifted to Manchester – and Spurs have become more dangerous than Arsenal or ChelseaNostalgia took over at the weekend when Arsenal beat Everton 5-2 and Liverpool went down 4-1 against Spurs at Wembley. Almost to a person the nation’s subeditors came up with London 9 Merseyside 3 as either a headline or a strap, unintentionally giving away their age and outlook in the process.Because you would have to go back to the last millennium to remember the days when battles for league supremacy were routinely fought out between London and Merseyside. In terms of league titles, Merseyside has been a trophy-free zone since that heady period in...
Arsène Wenger must continue with golden front trio; Christopher Schindler was a great buy for Huddersfield; Manchester City defence is as key as their attackThis was the first time Arsène Wenger had started Mesut Özil, Alexandre Lacazette and Alexis Sánchez in his XI. Yet until Everton went down to 10 men Arsenal were hardly a goal machine, having struggled to a 2-1 lead when Idrissa Gueye was sent off. At this point Özil was on the scoresheet, and by the final whistle Lacazette and Sánchez had also registered. Wenger, of course, cannot rely on the opposition having a man getting his marching orders every game. But even before this happened there was cause for optimism: Sánchez created Özil’s strike while...