It was another appalling night for Manchester United fans. The Devils lost 3-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur, in a match that showed everything that is poor about this side, but also showing glimpses of intent and quality, which just goes to show how bad things went for the team in second half.
Harry Kane and Lucas Moura scored in the span of two minutes early into the second half, with the Brazilian adding another one 10 minutes before the end.
Manchester United Are In A Deep Mess
However, Manchester United actually stated well. The way they played first half, it looked as if it was going to be a similar match to the one these two played at Old Trafford last year. United pressed well, making Spurs feel uncomfortable and had very good chances to go ahead. Instead, it was still goalless at the interval and the break, Man United simply fell apart.
Kane scored a beautiful header after Phil Jones did not mark him well enough. Moura then scored after a poor defensive setup from United and Ander Herrera turning his back to the Brazilian shooting on goal. The third goal was just to prove how chaotic Devils became in an instant, as Moura scored from what was a 1v3 situation.
Luke Shaw Is Coming Back To His Best
If there was anything positive about the all-round performance, it was Luke Shaw. The left-back played in a slightly advanced position, as Mourinho went for what was a 3-5-2 formation. However, with the team waning in second half and looking like they had no energy whatsoever, Shaw was fighting against the current.
He was sprinting up and down on the left flank, often adding himself to the attacks United were creating. He was also always looking to cut inside, as Spurs were very narrow in the first half and Kieran Trippier had troubles containing him. What was even more important is that Shaw created three chances for United and completed all three of his attempted dribbles. Seems that Man United now know their first-choice left-back.
Jose Mourinho Has Lost His Touch
It was a very nice moment after the match when Jose Mourinho went to the Stretford End and applauded the fans while they were reciprocating him back. However, his behavior in the press conference afterwards showed big signs of what Mourinho represents these days.
If there is one mantra that Jose Mourinho holds dear to himself, than it is that of him bringing trophies. He even pointed that out, when bitterly claimed that he had won three Premier League titles, more than remaining 19 Premier League managers together, even demanding respect. But thing is that none of those titles came at Manchester United, which is what matters at this point. And it is incredibly hard seeing it coming to Old Trafford this season, too.
What Mourinho did lacked respect towards his colleagues. He even forgot that Arsene Wenger had won three Premier League titles in his career. The Portuguese might counter that by saying all of them were won a long time ago, but that seems to be the case with Mourinho too.
The manager had more than two years to get the best out of this group of players and he had failed in that regard. A team he has right now is far from perfect, but should also be far better than what we had seen in the previous period.
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