Mourinho desperate to atone

GAMES against Chelsea will always be special for Jose Mourinho, for so long the darling of Stamford Bridge.

The latest trip to his former club tonight might just carry even more significance.

There are other factors in play for the Manchester United manager aside from his team’s need for three points to keep pace with rampant leader Manchester City in the EPL.

There’s also the desire for redemption after United’s humiliating 4-0 loss at Chelsea around this time last year.

There’s the gradual souring of his relationship with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte.

Also, what better way to silence growing criticism of him and his team’s style of play than for an increasingly irritable Mourinho to finally lead United to an away win against a big rival?

“From the emotional point of view, it’s just one more game,” Mourinho has said in the build-up.

Few will take those comments seriously.

Going into a match that has proved to be one of the most contentious and incident-filled in English soccer in recent years, the focus should really be on Chelsea and Conte.

The 3-0 loss to Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday was verging on the embarrassing because of the comical nature of Chelsea’s defending.

And with the team having already lost three times in 10 games of its Premier League title defence, questions are being asked about Chelsea’s squad depth and ability to challenge on both domestic and European fronts.

Invariably, though, Mourinho manages to grab the spotlight on occasions like this. Even in last season’s game, the United coach made himself the focus of the post-match analysis when, while shaking hands with Conte after the final whistle, he rebuked his counterpart for his hysterical celebrations.