Jose: I didn’t have the option to change game
JOSE Mourinho suggested United missed midfield options during their Premier League draw with Liverpool at Anfield.
United managed one attempt on target and had 38 per cent possession as the contest ended goalless for the second successive season. Mourinho started Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera in midfield but his only other central midfielder on the bench was Axel Tuanzebe, who is a centre-back by trade.
Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick were all unavailable through injury and Mourinho hinted he would have played a three-man midfield had one of them been fit. The United manager expected Jurgen Klopp to change Liverpool’s formation in an attempt to secure a first Premier League home win since August and felt that reluctance contributed to United’s issues.
“I was but I’m not criticising it,” he said of Klopp’s approach. “I am just saying as a coach you are on the bench and you try to anticipate things and I have no midfielder not to do what I want to do so many times which is to be with three strong midfielders and give more freedom to my all three attacking players. I couldn’t do that.
“No Fellaini, no Carrick, No Pogba, nothing, nothing at all. And I thought to change the direction of the game was to bring players with one against one, bring players with speed and maybe – and that’s what I told the players at half-time – maybe they are going to change, but they didn’t.
“In the second half Matic tired and I had no solutions on the bench. I tried with my substitutions to make us more dynamic in attack, but in reality we lost power and energy and control in midfield.
“We had one shot on goal – well for you and the experts it is easy to speak but it is more difficult from the sidelines. Liverpool’s midfield was really strong. They are faster than us when the game breaks.
“I had no chance to bring the game in another direction so it is a positive point.”
Mourinho also insisted he could not change United’s approach at Liverpool because Klopp did not give him an opportunity to win the game.
“Don’t tell me what Jurgen told because I’m not here to comment on his words,” Mourinho said. “We come for three [points]. But in the second half we felt difficult to do that, with the match, with the dynamics it has, I was waiting for Jurgen to change, I was waiting for him to go more attacking, but he kept the three strong midfield players all the time, where he was having control, because I only had Herrera and Matic.”