UNITED Jose keeps his calm to inspire fightback
THERE he was waiting for them in trademark style.
Jose Mourinho has made a habit of being the first to the dressing room and United players were expecting their manager to strip off his navy trench coat and plug in the hairdryer in City’s grey away dressing room.
United were awful – lucky to only be 2-0 down at half-time – and were facing up to the nightmare scenario of going down in history as the side who were humiliated as ‘Roll With It’ rang out and confetti fell from the sky in City’s title-winning celebrations.
Whatever about losing previous Manchester derbies, this would be a memory that would scar these players forever and, yet, Mourinho remained calm and handed his side some simple tactical instructions.
Mourinho, it must be remembered, is not one for Hollywood team talks and often lets a player or even a member of staff have the final word before players go out.
He has even been known to say nothing in the past when his side are losing at the break; that tactic helped inspire a 3-1 comeback for Chelsea in the West London derby back in 2014.
Mourinho did not quite go that far when he stood before his players at the Etihad, but it was a remarkably simple team talk.
The Portuguese praised his three central midfielders – Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic – for their work-rate and called on Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly to be more composed on the ball after a shaky first-half.
He also wanted Alexis Sanchez and Jesse Lingard to come inside to give their team-mates more options following a half where United had just one touch in City’s penalty area and failed to even have a shot on goal.
And then came the killer line before the buzzer went: “You don’t want to be the clowns standing there, watching them get their title.”
Within 24 minutes, Smalling volleyed home and United had turned the game on its head for the second time in a month as they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 away from home.
A lot has been made of Mourinho’s management style and approach, and whether that defeat to Sevilla proved he has lost his magic touch on the biggest stage. But those remarkable comebacks against City and Crystal Palace – and United’s improved record in big games – show his players are responding to his instructions even if he would rather they were 2-0 up rather than 2-0 down in the first place. Clearly, the formula still delivers. A similar tactic worked wonders with his Chelsea side when they spoilt Liverpool’s party and derailed their title challenge at Anfield back in 2014.
“I used the word with my players. I said – we are going to be the clowns, they want us to be the clowns in the circus. The circus is here. Liverpool are to be champions,” he previously told Gary Neville in an interview.
Encouragingly for Mourinho, too, the heroes of Palace – Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic – were not the difference makers here. It was Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba, his two best outfield players, who finally stepped up with the eyes of the world watching.
Clearly, his young side are behind him and you already get the feeling that third-season syndrome may not be the issue it once was – if United get their recruitment right this summer.