How Mourinho’s gameplan gave us game of season
Jose shows he still has the knack to plot big results
not a perfect display by United. They allowed Arsenal too many real chances, especially in the second half.
Nor was it a perfect afternoon, with Paul Pogba sent off for a thoughtless stamp on Hector Bellerin in the second half that will keep him out of the Manchester derby next Sunday. That could be a costly moment in the broader context of the title race. But at least United are in one: City are now 15 points ahead of Arsenal.
United went 2-0 up within 11 minutes on Saturday and both goals came from cringe-worthy mistakes in possession.
Mourinho has always maintained that the team with possession is more likely to make a fatal mistake, which is why he prefers not to have the ball in games like this.
It does not always work out like that: remember United’s dire 0-0 draw at Anfield or their 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge. Those were games when United were sat waiting for their hosts to cough up good chances that never came, leaving them frustrated and empty-handed at the final whistle. But here the Arsenal defence was in a generous mood, and it proved Wenger wrong and Mourinho right. Yes, United took both goals well, and the second came from a thrillingly incisive three-man move.
But the mistakes that led to them were disastrous, especially for a team that wants to compete at the top end of the Premier League this season.
The first came when Laurent Koscielny, usually so assured in possession, tried a risky square ball to Sead Kolasinac after just four minutes. Before Kolasinac could receive it, Antonio Valencia darted in and stole the ball. He passed to Paul Pogba, the remnants of the Arsenal defence ran towards him, and when Pogba gave Valencia the ball back it was simple enough to beat Petr Cech.
The second, seven minutes later, was even worse. Shkodran Mustafi tried to bring the ball out but dallied and was robbed by Lingard. Lukaku evaded Mustafi and rolled a pass to Martial, who held off Koscielny and flicked it through to Lingard, running through, and he finished. It was a perfect example of counter-attacking precision.
There are few better teams than Arsenal when it comes to turning it on once the game already looks lost.
True to form, having gone 2-0 down they then started to play, dominating possession and even creating chances against United’s tight back five.
Alexandre Lacazette was excellent, and was in the thick of it as Arsenal laid siege at the end of the first half: Marcos Rojo blocked one shot before David de Gea tipped another onto the bar. Just before the break De Gea had to save from Lukaku, reacting with characteristic speed to stop the owngoal.
Arsenal needed to start the second half with the same intensity, and they did, and this time they found a way past De Gea. Alexis Sanchez chipped a ball over to Ramsey, breaking the off-side trap, laying the ball back to Lacazette. He had more than enough time to pick his spot and beat De Gea, for his ninth Arsenal goal. The rest of this game was a reminder that any other shot from any other chance will not beat him.
The problem for Arsenal was that the more men they threw forward, the more open they were at the back. And this United team, with Lukaku, Martial, Pogba and Lingard, was perfectly set up to slice through them on the break.
At the start of the second half Lingard had a shot deflected onto the bar but soon enough he got his second. United won the ball, Lingard broke down the middle, Pogba shrugged off Koscielny with ludicrous ease and Lingard tapped the finish in, his third goal this week.
With Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud on, Arsenal ended the game playing a 3-2-5 formation, throwing everything they had at the United backline.
Welbeck was dangerous and when he was tripped by Rojo in the box, Arsenal should have had a penalty. But they did not, and for all their possession and chances, their commitment to attack, they ended up on the wrong side of a 3-1 defeat.