Mourinho
sending a message to his critics after the game against Spurs on Saturday
Since suffering his
fourth successive defeat at Old Trafford since becoming Tottenham manager,
Mauricio Pochettino has subsequently received no criticism from the media. This
seems especially strange, specifically because of the barrage of criticism Jose
Mourinho was on the receiving end of after the so-called ‘negative’ performance
in the goalless draw against Liverpool only a fortnight ago.
In no way was United’s
performance against Liverpool anything close to the high standard they have set
for themselves so far this year, but getting an away point at Anfield is never
a bad result for anyone, least of all Manchester United, considering the
passion and tensity that is guaranteed to come with that particular fixture.
However, Pochettino’s
tactics against United on Saturday were arguably more defensive than United
were against Liverpool, certainly on paper anyway. At Anfield, United started
with Lukaku, Mkhitaryan and Martial, as well as introducing Rashford and Lingard
in the second half. On paper, that doesn’t seem the most defensive of teams,
especially when compared to the team Pochettino selected on Saturday. Dele Alli
(midfielder), Christian Eriksen (midfielder) and Heung Min Son (winger) were
the only “attacking” options deployed by Pochettino while opting to leave
out-and-out striker, Fernando Llorente, on the bench, although he did make an
appearance when it became evident that Spurs couldn’t provide any decent
service to Son.
Obviously, the main
reason for Spurs not starting the game with a striker was down to the injury of
Harry Kane, but if you can’t adapt when faced with injuries, you will always
struggle to win the league title.
Harry Kane missed the game
against United after picking up a hamstring injury against West Ham
Despite this, Mourinho
has yet again been criticised in recent days regarding his tactics against
Spurs, even though he approached the game obvious attacking intentions,
starting with three defenders and two strikers.
Anthony Martial’s 81st
minute winner was the fourth Premier League goal he has scored from the bench
this season
There is no denying the
fact that United didn’t play well on Saturday, but the attacking intentions
from Mourinho were evident. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for
Pochettino’s attacking intentions.
Comments
Post a Comment