Jose Mourinho showed he still has it as he expertly picked apart Manchester United’s tactics.
While preparing for Fenerbahce’s showdown, the former Chelsea boss was tipped off by Sofyan Amrabat about Noussair Mazraoui’s hidden talents as a playmaker.
Although Rasmus Hojlund had been banging in goals for United and enjoyed a restful international break with Denmark, it was Joshua Zirkzee who got the nod despite a goal drought. After the game, Mourinho pointed out the stark contrast in styles between Zirkzee and on-form Hojlund.
Erik ten Hag was mindful of creating chaos with four forwards, leading many to wonder if Mourinho saw this as praise. But the Special One just did his maths: “Look, honestly, I know that in your mind they have three points,” said Mourinho.
“They had two, they have three. But I think in this eight-match format, if they win two matches, they have nine points and there are five matches to play. They will not win two matches out of the five. They will win more. So they will qualify.
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“So I think the point for them is a positive point. The same way in Porto a point is a positive point. Because we are a good team, it’s difficult to play here. Porto is the same,” reports the Manchester Evening News.
“And I think he (Ten Hag) tried. I think I know what he tried. My only doubt was Zirkzee or Hojlund, the difference of these two players. I know both very well because both played in Italy on my time.
“I think what they tried with Zirkzee was to see if I was going to press Zirkzee when Zirkzee drops in between the lines. If I don’t go, they have one extra player in there.
“If I go, they try and create space for (Alejandro) Garnacho and (Marcus) Rashford to attack diagonals. So we had to choose. Then when he comes with Hojlund, he tries to attack the spaces more. So I think strategically, he was good.
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“And the situation with Mazraoui, maybe for you it was a big surprise. For us it was not because Amrabat told me Mazraoui can play in this position.
“He did a lot with Ten Hag in Ajax. He has the qualities – he is not Bruno – but in terms of the legs to press with a striker, the two centre backs, he has the legs to do it.
“So I think they did pretty well. And then in the last part of the game, they were pragmatic, they were not taking risks. I finished the game with three fresh players in attack to see if they would come a little bit desperate for the result.
“They never did it. So I think they are pretty happy with a point. If they win the next match, they have six. So I think they did well.
“Look, if before the game somebody tells me a draw against Manchester United, I say good result. Now you tell me are you happy with the result? I say I am not happy. So I think we did well and the point for them is a positive point.”