Sparky ridicules Mourinho’s latest pathetic excuses
Armstrong Lukaku Soares Herrera
MARK HUGHES and Jose Mourinho have more history than Dan Snow.
So when the Welshman learned the Portuguese was trying to re-write their latest chapter by claiming Southampton had been “playing for the point” after the break in this ramshackle encounter, the Saints boss was not having it.
“Oh for Christ’s sake!” said the irked Old Trafford legend. “You guys were there, you know what it is.
“There was one team trying to press, had the majority of play in their half. Their play was flat. Our goalkeeper hasn’t made any saves in my recollection. Not the game we all saw.”
It was proof it is not only Manchester United fans and TV pundits who are annoyed by the way the Old Trafford club are playing under Mourinho – and his attempts to justify a team looking at home down in seventh place.
Yet it was appropriate these two favourites in the Premier League manager’s sack race – who clashed literally at Stoke last year – needed to be figuratively separated after this
draw. Their next competition is to see who stays in a job longer and avoid becoming history.
But the Southampton players at least looked like they were up for the fight at their end of the table and wanted to keep Hughes in his job.
Mourinho deployed his usual diversionary tactics after a poor result with sound-bites
about “mad dogs” “simplicity is genius”.
Yet the truth is that, after a blundering start which again called into question the professional preparation of the players, Manchester United did not deserve to beat a side which started the day only off the bottom of the table on goal difference. But torrid football,
and excuses and resignation have become the new normal on the red side of Manchester as another season slips away.
Mourinho’s team plays like he acts: sullen and inconsistent and lacking the traditional joie de vivre of this great club. Or “flat” as Hughes said.
The Portuguese complained about a lack of “fluidity” in his
SCOTT McTOMINAY was ridiculed for crouching behind Manchester United’s wall prior to Cedric’s free-kick. But there was actually a good reason for it – the United midfielder was copying Inter Milan’s Marcelo Brozovic who blocked a low Luis Suarez free-kick for Barcelona in October the same way. side while leaving Juan Mata on the bench. He wanted more aggression with £50m Fred not called into action as Paul Pogba (right) gave another lackadaisical display.
Instead Mourinho blamed his central defensive crisis after playing a Saints team which had scored 10 goals in their previous 13 matches.
“In the Premier League, to play a football match with one central defender is hard,” he whinged. The initiative was handed over before the start.
The consolation for United was that it could have been worse – and at least the carcrash first-half wasn’t boring.
A fine strike from Stuart Armstrong and a delicious free kick from Cedric Soares – when Scott McTominay was bizarrely crouching behind the wall – put Southampton two up after 20 minutes.
Yet with the Saints defence as fragile as their confidence, Marcus Rashford helped the visitors to level by half-time, as he set up goals for Romelu Lukaku and Ander Herrera.
“They have a good team and came back with individual skill,” said Soares. “We maybe slowed down a little bit.
“But after that in the second half I thought we were the better side again.
“Today we were again the better team. It’s just a very fine line that is not letting us reach the three points.”