Mourinho’s ultimate home humiliation: Man Utd 0-3 Spurs in four key steps

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Spurs have beaten Manchester United 0-3 at Old Trafford; their biggest win there for 40 years.

The Red Devils started the game in great form; their first-half was as vibrant and dynamic as they had looked all season. Sure, they still used the ball poorly and went in at 0-0, but their intent and purpose was so much better you could only see them winning.

Then the second half began and Spurs blitzed United with two quick goals, and that was it. Game over and Manchester United lost their second consecutive game of the season, leaving them with just three points from their opening three games. Lucas Moura really stuck the dagger in, adding a third goal in the last 10 minutes of the game.

But how exactly did United’s excellent first half end up with such a humbling defeat? We’ve got the answers!

1. Mourinho’s 3-5-2 was a half-measure

Obviously United had to change something after the Brighton defeat, so José Mourinho turned to the system which had served him well in pre-season but he strangely abandoned as competitive football began: 3-5-2. Well, sort of.

By deploying Ander Herrera in the defensive line, it’s clear Mourinho was actually aiming for something more like the 2-2-4-2 system that he used to shut down Antonio Conte’s Chelsea during their incredible title-winning season back in 2017. The idea probably being that Herrera do a man-marking job on Lucas Moura or Dele Alli, much as he did on Eden Hazard.

But a crucial component of that 2-0 win over Chelsea was that United had two man-markers; Herrera and Darmian. This meant that the system and shape ahead of them was very fluid with a block of four players (two midfielders and two forwards) that could drive the ball into Chelsea’s half and create danger that way.

Against Spurs, United only had Herrera man-marking in what was otherwise an orthodox 3-5-2. This meant that Nemanja Matic was placed in the middle of the midfield, which made him an obvious target for counter-pressing (Spurs generated a big chance by doing just this) and also slowed United down through the middle of the pitch so much that they were reduced to hoofing the ball long to the strikers; they still created chances this way but nothing like as well as they could have done.

And because their system was essentially just 3-5-2, it became a 3-5-2. Ander Herrera wasn’t really marking anyone except Harry Kane every now and again, and so he was just a third centre-back. That wasn’t a problem when Spurs were flailing around, but once they actually began playing football?

Look at Spurs’ second goal, Herrera is a million miles deeper than everyone else and played Christian Eriksen onside as he ran through into acres of space before putting the cross in for Lucas to score; where Herrera offered only a cowardly attempt to block a tame shot. Had he gone in with true commitment, he probably would have blocked Lucas’ shot.

Had Mourinho gone full 2-2-4-2, United’s conviction and focus would have lasted well beyond an opening half-hour where Spurs were simply shell-shocked.

2. Lukaku lost his nerve

Mourinho’s lack of conviction was mirrored by his star striker. Romelu Lukaku is often accused of not turning up in the big games, which is a label he has unfairly earned – but today he well and truly failed to turn up in the most harmful way possible. When Danny Rose was panicked into play a soft back-pass, Lukaku ran through on goal and skipped around Hugo Lloris.

The angle was tight and he was on his right-foot, but he had the goal at his mercy and still skewed the ball wide. A goal here would have galvanised United’s approach and given them the confidence to play harder, but Lukaku couldn’t deliver for his side when they needed to most. Later he missed a great chance with his head, and in the second half (just after Spurs took the lead) he couldn’t score with his left. That was the hardest chance, but he had three clean looks at goal and didn’t take any.

3. Calamity Phil Jones

Mourinho has been hugely critical of all his centre-backs, which is probably why none of them look like they have an ounce of confidence between them. But whereas it seems like Mourinho has harangued the solidity and confidence out of Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof, it’s always been known that Phil Jones has been an accident waiting to happen.

And yet, here he was, starting in defence. This was perhaps the biggest mistake on Mourinho’s part, and it certainly was the one that undid all his good work with the formation and energy of the first half. The cracks were showing even in that excellent opening period as Jones got put on skates by Lucas Moura and, in his efforts to chase him down, he bundled him over into the box.

That should have been a penalty for Spurs, but United got away with it. In the second half, they didn’t. Jones lost Harry Kane for a corner, allowing him to head Spurs into the lead. For the second goal, Jones was nowhere to be found in the left channel he was supposed to be defending, leaving Christian Eriksen free to pick out Lucas Moura to score. Jones then left the field with a hamstring injury, meaning that United had to burn a substitution on a like-for-like change.

4. The momentum of despair

Above all else, when things aren’t going for you… they just aren’t going for you. Misplaced backpasses, star strikers missing great chances, literally everything about Phil Jones, Spurs being terrible for 30 minutes but suddenly turning in a lethal counter-attacking display to perfectly punish United’s mistakes, Hugo Lloris putting his personal troubles aside to have a great performance in goal…

The momentum of despair is a genuine thing, and Manchester United are well and truly caught up in it. Whether players look lethargic and disassociated as they were when Brighton smacked 3 past them last week, or whether they looked frantic and desperate as Spurs smacked 3 past them tonight, they just don’t look like they know what they are meant to do.

United look like they’re circling the drain, and with no transfer window available to help rectify the problem by bringing in some new elite talent to bolster the side, the only way it looks like the Red Devils can escape this death spiral is by sacking José Mourinho.

The post Mourinho’s ultimate home humiliation: Man Utd 0-3 Spurs in four key steps appeared first on Squawka News.



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