Mourinho unrepentant in Manchester style wars
MOST CLUBS would be delighted to be sitting second in the Premier League, into the FA Cup quarter-finals and on the verge of a return to the last eight of the Champions League. However, Jose Mourinho is learning of the exacting demands of being Manchester United manager with incessant questions over not just results, but the manner in which they are obtained. “If people don’t think we deserved it, I don’t care,” Mourinho said after United defeated rivals Liverpool 2-1 on Saturday despite enjoying just 32% possession. The problem for Mourinho is not just United’s tradition for winning while playing on the front foot under great European Cup-winning managers Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson, but that United are no longer even the best team in Manchester. Manchester City enjoy a 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a game in hand. Moreover, the attractive style implemented by long-time adversary Pep Guardiola is far more in keeping with that United fans are used to seeing than the fare offered up by Mourinho’s tactics. Chelsea fans serenaded their former boss with chants of “just like London, your city is blue” on their visit to Old Trafford last month. “This isn’t a vintage United side, but it’s not as bad as the detractors would suggest,” Andy Mitten, editor of the United We Stand fanzine, told AFP.
“Just because City are having a successful season doesn’t mean United’s season has to be a disaster.”
However, with City seemingly just a few weeks away from sealing the title and having already booked their place in the Champions League quarterfinals, the pressure is on United to join them in Friday’s draw when they host Sevilla tonight.
The last-16 tie is delicately balanced at 0-0 after Mourinho resorted to type by concentrating on obtaining a clean sheet at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan three weeks ago.
“Mourinho, look how hard it is to win when you don’t want to,” Spanish sports daily Marca said in a withering critique of the Portuguese’s set-up.
The decision to not go looking for an away goal against a side that has lost heavily to the likes of Spartak Moscow, Eibar and Real Betis this season will come back to haunt Mourinho if United fail to progress.
To do so, Mourinho must find the right blend between attack and defence with big decisions to be made over whether Paul Pogba and Alexis Sanchez, who joined in January on reportedly the highest pay packet in Premier League history, start. – AFP