Finally, Mourinho sees a reason to cheer
Sense of relief palpable as the manager’s name rang around Old Trafford
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The walk was strong. Jose Mourinho, shoulders back, chest out, expensive black overcoat zipped up to his chin, entered the arena with a swagger and left it looking like a proper Manchester United manager again, his name ringing around a jubilant Old Trafford. He had been a man determined to portray an image of strength and confidence at the start of the evening; a manager emerging from the darkness of the tunnel with a sense of poise and purpose.
If he is going to be forced out of Old Trafford this week, as some headlines suggested on Friday night, despite the strong denials that followed, the Portuguese was going to do so with his head held high.
There was something else, though, a glimpse of the emotions behind the act, a hint of vulnerability in the way Mourinho started to glance sideways into the stands as he walked towards his dugout. On more than one occasion he held the gaze of a supporter who had cheered or clapped him.
Mourinho admitted he needed an unofficial ‘vote of confidence’ from a board member to know he could discount a news report that he would be sacked this weekend.
If this was supposedly Mourinho’s swansong, his final act as Manchester United manager, it started with cowardice and ended in heroism. Booed off at half-time, his team left the pitch to a standing ovation, completing a stunning second half comeback to claim all three points.
What Mourinho needed was a performance, something for everyone at the club to rally around. He needed a show of defiance. What he got in the first half was a surrender, two goals down inside 10 minutes against a team that had scored four goals in the Premier League in seven games before this. Mourinho tried to keep his composure, he clapped and encouraged. All the while he was serenaded with chants telling him he would be sacked in the morning from the jubilant Newcastle supporters to his right.
Mourinho made a change, a bold one too, after just 19 minutes, sending on Juan Mata for Eric Bailly. Manchester United remained one dimensional; abject. There was no spark, no imagination and very little fight. What happened next did not seem possible.
At half time, with his team trailing 2-0 to Newcastle side, Mourinho began to jog down the touchline. What followed was remarkable, a fightback so unexpectedly impressive that it deserves to sit alongside any of the famous ones of old.
Mourinho did not celebrate the winning goal. Hands shoved firmly in his pockets, he looked at the ground in front of him while everyone else celebrated deliriously. The Portuguese might just have got things back under control, both in himself and the team he leads.