Lots of play to come – Mourinho
MANCHESTER City’s eight-point advantage after 11 games is leading to talk of the Premier League title race being over this month already, but as Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has warned – English football has a habit of throwing up surprises.
It is undeniable that Manchester City are playing with such a verve and fluency that it is hard to imagine them losing three games and allowing their rivals, whether it be Manchester United, Tottenham or Chelsea, into the race.
But while the form of Pep Guardiola’s team – and second-placed Manchester United’s recent losses to Huddersfield and Chelsea – point towards a runaway title win, there is indeed lot of soccer left to be played.
“Eight points in the Premier League is not the same in Portugal, La Liga or the Bundesliga,” Mourinho said after the loss at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, which followed a 3-1 victory by Manchester City over Arsenal.
“Yes, it is eight points but there is still a lot of play [to come].”
While Mourinho was not explicit in his explanation, the fact is that suspensions and injuries to key players happen and, over the course of a long season, can radically affect a team’s form.
And while City certainly have plenty of quality, their strength in depth has not yet been truly tested.
Guardiola was already talking about his team being tired after their midweek trip to Naples in the Champions League.
How will they be holding up physically after a fixture-congested festive season?
How will they cope in February when they will be in knockout action in the Champions League?
City made a strong start last season but then suffered successive defeats – to Chelsea and Leicester City – at the start of December before ending that month with a loss to Liverpool at Anfield on New Year’s Eve.
United host City at Old Trafford on December 10 – a game which Mourinho surely has his eye on already as a chance to rein in the leaders.
He has said that his team will be stronger with some key figures set to return.
“I hope that in the busy period at the end of November, December and January, we’re going to be at maximum strength with [Paul] Pogba, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and [Marcus] Rojo back [from injury],” he said.
United’s stumble in form after their excellent start of six wins from seven games has coincided with the absence of French midfielder Pogba.
Romelu Lukaku’s goal drought has had a bigger impact, given the absence of an alternative central striker, and the return of injured star Ibrahimovic would give Mourinho another option.
With the focus on United’s challenge, it is worth noting Tottenham are level on points with them, and after their crushing of European champions Real Madrid last week, a long-winning run from Mauricio Pochettino’s team cannot be ruled out.
But while Guardiola is right to play down talk of an inevitable title win, he could not help highlighting one key difference from last season – his team’s performances against top six English soccer clubs.
“Last season, against title contenders, we were able to win just twice. Coming into November, we have already beaten Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal,” he said.
Six days after December’s clash with United, Guardiola’s side face Tottenham at the Etihad, and then on January 14 they are at Anfield, where their title bid unravelled last year.
If Manchester City can triumph in those games, then perhaps talk of a one-horse race can be justified.
But as Mourinho says, there is a lot of football left to be played. – Reuters