Jose Mourinho has always read the script and usually offers exactly what storytelling needs, yet he expects less.
And the script, for those who like a bit of drama in their press conferences, on this occasion required a jibe aimed at forming Manchester United from their previous manager. Something was praised for his successor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but something appropriately petty and simply silly by Mourinho. Something to feed the fire. Mourinho obliged.
The Tottenham Hotspur boss, knowing that his team is out of the first four games, can speak freely about the merits of the three teams that are fighting. And in targeting United, he joined the group of social media cynics who are suggesting that only VAR and a string of criminal decisions have pushed Solskjaer’s men on the charts in the past few weeks.
Inevitably, a reporter asked United’s Spurs boss and what the Portuguese of his old team is doing, which are 19 games unbeaten by Solskjaer in all competitions – a feat that eclipsed Mourinho’s best of 17 during the 2016 season / 17.
Everyone knows that in reality the credit lies with Solskjaer, the transformative signature of Bruno Fernandes and the sharp attack by United.
But, like when he said he would have preferred to have Giovani Lo Celso by his side with Fernandes about a week ago, Mourinho preferred an alternative angle.
Asked if he thinks United will finish in the top four, he said: “If Manchester United does, it will do so very well in the second half of the season and when you play well, you deserve it.
“Besides, everyone knows that they have been a little lucky, more than once, luck that others didn’t have, we didn’t make that luck for example.”
It’s strange but not entirely surprising that Mourinho has taken this path, given the shortcomings of his team. Spurs suffered two penalties in a 1-1 draw with United shortly after the restart, but he rightly got the advantage of a VAR call that eliminated the latter. In addition to Mourinho’s, there was no discussion of the first penalty kick, which Fernandes converted.
At the start of the season, United beat Tottenham 2-1 at Old Trafford thanks in part to the second half penalty that was awarded at home by Marcus Rashford.
Both goals scored by United on penalties helped Solskjaer’s team to collect the points that their performances had fully deserved in the matches. And both penalty decisions were as clear as you want.
So arguing about whether United was “lucky” or not is getting caught up in Mourinho’s discussion, subjecting himself to the obvious distraction game he’s playing. The spurs are six points behind Solskjaer’s men, with only the Europa League football to fight for, although they can do United a favor when they face Leicester on Sunday.
United will not pay any attention to Mourinho’s comments, as they know that their position in the championship is entirely deserved. If not, they were one of the best teams in the Premier League the best side, since reboot. Fernandes and Rashford, along with Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, have been in sparkling form.
While Spurs has been tiring and inconsistent since restarting, scoring eight league goals, United have scored 19 goals in those seven games. Fortunately, don’t score so many.
It’s the oldest cliché in the book, but after 38 games in a league season, luck makes its way. Each team will be placed in the position that reflects its ability. If United wins the last two league games, they will qualify for the Champions League and deserve it fully.
Even if they don’t cross the line, Mourinho’s claim will clearly be wrong. United has already moved from his position thanks to Solskjaer and they have already shown him that he was wrong.
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