Mourinho has doomed look of a dead man walking
One-sided Anfield ‘derby’ offers further proof of United’s sorry decline under ‘Special One’
WATCHING Manchester United is like watching Brexit. Every time you think things can’t deteriorate any further they take another turn for the worse. Like Theresa May, Jose Mourinho apparently has no idea how to make things better apart from insisting that his sinking craft might magically right itself. So we’re left with the sorry spectacle of a once-mighty imperial power floundering so pathetically it’s become an object of pity.
All the talk beforehand about the great rivalry between United and Liverpool was historically accurate but essentially irrelevant. This didn’t feel like a clash between two top teams, it felt like one of those FA Cup games where a non-league side tries desperately to keep the score down against Premier League opposition.
This was as one-sided a match as these two teams have ever produced. The statistics are extraordinary. Liverpool took 36 shots to United’s six and forced 13 corners to their opponent’s two. Mourinho has cautioned against placing too much faith in statistics and maybe he’s right. The 3-1 scoreline gives a completely false impression of the game. It suggests United belonged on the same pitch as Liverpool.
Two players epitomise United’s sorry state. Marouane Fellaini is a kind of comfort blanket for his boss. Like the GAA managers of old who reacted to every crisis by bringing off a corner-forward, Mourinho has a superstitious belief in the perpetual efficacy of a high ball bashed towards the gangly Belgian.
The introduction of Fellaini is usually an aesthetic disaster but at Anfield it was also a tactical catastrophe. His arrival for the second half prompted a realignment which handed Andy Robertson the freedom of the left flank. United’s weakness on that side led to Liverpool’s second goal and was a constant source of misery for the visitors.
Fellaini did almost hit the target in the second half. That’s if the target was the corner flag. When his spectacular slice managed to floor a paramedic, it added an appropriate slapstick note to the comedy of errors which has been United’s season.
Connoisseurs of the absurd could also cherish the sight of Paul Pogba languishing on the bench while his team’s midfield inadequacies were mercilessly exposed. The Frenchman would surely have improved things if introduced. Instead he was forced to suffer another public humiliation from a manager overly fond of such punishments.
The dwindling band of Mourinho partisans insist Pogba is to blame for the breakdown of relations between player and manager. They point to his social media account and his fancy haircuts and his supposedly lackadaisical attitude. Yet such peccadilloes didn’t stop Pogba being a colossus at Juventus or inspiring France to victory in the World Cup only a few months ago.
That Pogba has played well for everyone except Mourinho is telling. Managers are responsible for getting the best out of their players. Mourinho is not some fantasy football nerd who just selects his line-up and can do nothing about its performance.
Pogba cost United more than Liverpool paid for Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané and Roberto Firmino put together. The combined fees for that trio are only a few million greater than the amount United spent to secure Romelu Lukaku, an unhappy and anonymous figure yesterday. Like Pogba, Lukaku has not reacted well to the scapegoat treatment.
Mourinho seeks to cover his a**e