JOSE LAUNCHES PRE-DERBY ATTACK ON CITY PLAYERS
Mourinho’s derby jibe at City: A little wind and they fall
LONDON: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has launched a pre-derby attack on Manchester City’s players by claiming it only takes a “little bit of wind” for them to go to ground.
The match is being billed as an opportunity for United to blast their way back into the title race and Mourinho lit the blue touch paper in his pre-match press briefing by suggesting City’s players went to ground too easily.
“They are a good team. They defend well, they react well to the moment they lose the ball,” Mourinho told reporters at United’s training base in Carrington, west of Manchester on Friday.
“They have a good dynamic in attack, they have creative move- ment. They have amazing players, they have a fantastic coach, they have lots of good things.
“If you ask me one thing that I don’t like a lot it’s that they lose their balance very easily. You know, a little bit of wind and they fall.”
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger accused City winger Raheem Sterling of diving last month, while midfielder Fernandinho was booked for simulation during his side’s recent win at Huddersfield.
Mourinho also questioned Guardiola’s right to wear a yellow ribbon in solidarity with imprisoned Catalan politicians, suggesting he would find himself in hot water with the authorities if he made a similar gesture.
“I think I wouldn’t be allowed to do. That’s just what I think,” said Mourinho, who famously clashed with Guardiola while the pair were coaches of Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.
“If the rules allow us to do that, he is a free citizen to do it. But I am not sure if the rules allow to have any political message on the pitch. That’s just my doubt.
“But I know Pep and I know his feelings like everybody else knows because it is public about his country.”
Meanwhile, Guardiola says he and Mourinho’s obsession with winning trophies makes them “twins” despite the perceived difference in their styles.
Guardiola is renowned for his philosophy of possession-based, passing football, which has he slowly instilled at Manchester City since his arrival as coach in 2016.
Mourinho meanwhile is often seen more as more pragmatic and obsessed with winning, something that has brought him 25 trophies during his 17-year managerial career, including Champions League titles with Porto and Inter Milan.
Yet as the two managers prepare to face each other at Old Trafford, Guardiola, himself a winner of 22 trophies and the same number of Champions Leagues, says they share that hunger for success.
“Definitely,” he said. “In that, we are twins. They want to win trophies, we want to win trophies.”