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15th October 2017
09:06pm BST
A pragmatic manager would think that his talented, expensively-assembled team could beat Liverpool, who hadn't kept a clean in six games. Arsenal, back in August, were the last side who failed to score against Jurgen Klopp's team. Only Mourinho, or possibly Tony Pulis if he ever gets to manage an elite team, would take a team averaging three goals a game in the league this season and instruct them not to cross the halfway line against a side with the third worst defensive record in the division.
Mourinho's approach made Dejan Lovren look like Franco Baresi. He turned Anthony Martial into an auxiliary full-back. And yet he views a goalless draw against an out of form Liverpool as one point gained rather than two points dropped on Manchester City. The United manager, once again, showed that in big games against direct opponents, he will revert to a defensive, negative approach.
This isn't a damning assessment of United as a club or the squad at Mourinho's disposal, because United's performance on Saturday reflects squarely on Mourinho, more than the club or the players involved. Is this the limit of his confidence in his team? Could he not trust them to even try beat a Liverpool team leaking goals?
Mourinho's tactical plan for the Liverpool match was akin to something he would deploy for the second-leg of a Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. He ignored the strengths of his own team in order to negate the opposition's qualities, but at no point attempted to win the match. Some might argue that this approach is justified because it has brought him great success, but will it be enough to deliver United the title?
Since he became manager last summer, United have only scored one goal away to a top six team. That's not the form of champions.
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This contrasts directly with Louis van Gaal's record in big games for United. Under Mourinho's predecessor, United beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield in 2015 with a brilliant performance. They dominated possession, restricted Liverpool to just one shot on target and won the game with a bicycle-kick from Juan Mata. Mourinho wouldn't have dreamed of introducing the Spanish midfielder into Saturday's game.
Van Gaal was dismissed because the club failed to qualify for the Champions League, and fans were disgruntled because the team were accused of playing "boring" football - which they did at times, but it wasn't boring in the way Mourinho's team were on Saturday. Van Gaal also managed to regularly beat United's direct rivals during his two seasons as manager.
The only thing surprising about Saturday's result is that some people seem surprised by it. Backing a goalless draw in a big match where Mourinho is the away manager is the safest bet in football.
If United are to win the league playing such a way, the club's fans or the manager won't care how they achieved it or that they subjected millions to a bore draw with their bitter rivals. Mourinho is all about results and he has become one of the most successful managers in the history of the sport with such an approach. However, at the same time, we shouldn't dress the game up as something it wasn't. It wasn't a "pragmatic" performance, and it is not how United have achieved success in the past.
Sky Sports did an excellent job promoting the match between the most successful clubs in English football. Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Souness spoke beforehand about the intensity of the fixture, and what it meant to play in it. Classic clips of the fixture were shown - John O'Shea scoring a last-minute winner at the Kop, Danny Murphy's free-kick at Old Trafford, Steven Gerrard's 30-yard strike past Fabien Barthez, John Arne Riise's unstoppable shot, Andy Cole heading the ball into the net after David James spilled a cross from Neville.
And then, we were served 90 minutes of nothing. The contrast between the old clips and the approach of Mourinho was striking. None of those moments would have been achieved if he was manager. Neville wouldn't have been allowed cross the half-way line, so he never would have set up Cole's goal in 1997. O'Shea wouldn't have scored in 2007, because United wouldn't have won a set-piece in Liverpool's half in the last minute under their current manager. Ultimately, Mourinho's approach will always contradict United's traditions of attacking football.
United have still made an excellent start to the season, but Saturday's result should make fans question the team's approach in big games. If this is how Mourinho instructs his team to play against a Liverpool team who previously could not keep a clean sheet, how will they play against City? And can they realistically win the league playing in such a manner against their direct rivals?Explore more on these topics:
