Even though Manchester United finished outside the top four of the Premier League last season, triumphs in the League Cup and Europa League meant the Portuguese recorded a better start to his new job than old foe Pep Guardiola did at Manchester City.
Half a season on, Mourinho is now the one on the ropes.
While United started the season in fine fashion, they’ve been hit by injuries, suspensions and a drop in intensity that has seen them drift away from City.
INHERITED A POOR SQUAD
The problems have been piling up at Old Trafford, however many have’t been borne out of this campaign. Several issues with the squad are long-standing ones.
Despite the money spent since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager, the recruitment has been less than impressive and often lacking in direction.
The team had few striking options with Wayne Rooney past his best while Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford were far too raw and still lacking in experience even now. To his credit, recruiting Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a masterstroke by Mourinho, it made them competitive but alas, was another move that papered over the cracks.
Ibrahimovic was always a stop-gap signing
Even with the signing of Paul Pogba, the midfield still lacked quality. It’s no wonder that Mourinho looks over at City and can’t help but be jealous.
The likes of Raheem Sterling, Kevin de Bruyne, Fernandinho, Sergio Aguero and David Silva have all played starring roles this season and Guardiola didn’t have to spend a penny for any one of them.
Instead, the Spaniard had the luxury of splurging nearly £200million on four defenders since his arrival in order to implement his specific system while putting a couple of finishing touches to their attack.
Mourinho on the other hand has been scrambling to put out one fire after another only to turn around to find more.
APPROACH
The United boss has managed to rebuild Old Trafford as a fortress, one that has been breached only by City in recent times. However, the Theatre of Dreams still misses its aura of years gone by.
While teams are definitely daunted once again by the prospect of trying to take three points away from the venue, they aren’t exactly shaking in their boots in the tunnel, those nerves seem reserved for the Etihad Stadium now and perhaps even Anfield.
United no longer go for the jugular. Under Mourinho, they’re compact and attacks are calculated. The comebacks and late winners used to be part of the Old Trafford experience but the Red Devils never looked like scoring in the closing stages against Southampton on Saturday.
United lack bite
For that, Mourinho only has himself to blame. Regardless of the personnel, United always found a way to exert pressure on the opposition in the closing stages, throwing caution to the wind and camping in enemy territory until they finally gave in.
They used to be incredible at spreading play, overloading the flanks and forcing their opponents into submission. Under Mourinho, they have been ponderous in possession, devoid of genuine width and lacking in zip and intensity. No one believes they can clinch a result late on, themselves included.
INJURIES
Moving forward this season, United face an uphill task. Never mind the title, they now face a battle for a top four spot and injuries to Lukaku and Ibrahimovic won’t do them any favours.
With both senior strikers out, Mourinho is now having to pay for being so reliant on Lukaku in particular. Seldom has he entrusted either Rashford or, to an even lesser extent, Martial with the centre forward role since his appointment.
Last season, he had to throw Rashford in at the deep end when Ibrahimovic was injured and will now be forced to do the same again, unless he has his way and is allowed to splurge in January.
The team’s injury concerns aren’t just limited to the striker’s position though. With Antonio Valencia out, Mourinho has reluctantly had to turn to Luke Shaw at left-back while Ashley Young fills in for the Ecuadorian on the right.
Lukaku injury leaves United in turmoil
More importantly, Michael Carrick’s health condition means Nemanja Matic has been working overtime and it’s beginning to tell in his performances.
Many of these issues though could’ve been avoided had Mourinho shown more faith in the younger players with the likes of Rashford afforded more chances up front or even Scott McTominay filling in on occasion for Matic to give the Serbian a rest.
Whatever resurgence United can manage for the rest of the season, if at all, Round Two seems destined to go to Guardiola and should Mourinho fail to learn from his mistakes ahead of next term, he could be on the receiving end of a knockout blow.
