MTU a team with caliber and power has begone a season with power
demolishing their first opponent West Ham 4-0 unreply goal that is what
they are know to do, but fail to do that last season, why, some will argue it
was not a mourinho's team or know good player's then.
there is always something about mourinho's second spell that gives him
an hedge over others, and i believe we will see that today as MTU takes on
Swansea City.
Over the last couple of seasons, Manchester United have been the most
welcoming of opponents. Under Louis van Gaal they would pass the ball around
endlessly with absolutely zero penetration, while Jose Mourinho’s first season
in charge was punctured with performances of decent intent but without any kind
of edge.
One game into their 2017-18 Premier League campaign they look like a
markedly different animal. In the space of a couple of months during the
off-season Mourinho’s United has evolved from a side full of weaknesses into a
well-oiled machine of incredible stature.
The additions of Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof have
made the Red Devils an all-together more imposing prospect physically, while
their increased athleticism cannot be overlooked. Their 4-0 victory over West
Ham United at Old Trafford, even accounting for the absence of Lindelof of
the new signings, was gleaming with the kind of characteristics which Mourinho
loves to have in his squads.
During Van Gaal’s reign, and in stages last season,
United’s attempt to stay with the Premier League’s leading pack resembled
Sylvester Stallone wheezing his way through the streets of Philadelphia in the
first film of the Rocky franchise. But against West Ham they took on the
appearance of Balboa’s powerful charge up the famous Rocky steps in the sequel
on his way to claiming the world title.
Even beyond the impacts made by Lukaku and Matic, Paul Pogba seemed to
have grown a few inches metaphorically and there was generally a far more
beastly presence about the United side compared to 12 months ago. At no stage
in 2016-17 did opposition sides truly fear Manchester United, but they now
looked like a monstrous machine in comparison.
Make no mistake about it, this is now Mourinho’s side. He may
have moaned during the course of last year about the stunted
pre-season campaign, the physical condition of the players he inherited and the
inability to dominate opponents at Old Trafford but he has no excuses this
time around.
That is the way he has liked it in the past, though. In every one of his
previous coaching stints, Mourinho has been a league winner in his second
season in charge. At Porto, Chelsea (twice), Inter and Real Madrid, his
sophomore campaign has seen him end at the top of the tree, and the early signs
at Manchester United suggest that he could be about to make it six out of six.
Of course, this was only the first of 38 games in the league this term
and the clash with Swansea on Saturday offers a reminder of a failed new dawn
from United’s recent history. It was on the opening day of 2013-14 that David
Moyes led the side to a 4-1 win at the Liberty Stadium, but within eight months
he was on his way out. Mourinho will demand a better follow-up to the West Ham
win.
"We had good tactical discipline in the team, a good clean sheet,
good football, a good dynamic in attack, four goals," he said of the
West Ham result. "We were leading 1-0 and kept playing to try to score
more goals and to play well. I liked it a lot!
"I liked also that the three subs, who are normally disappointed to
be on the bench, came on to the pitch and they performed at the same level. And
when I look even to the stands and I have there even good players that I didn’t
select, I am happy.
"But last season we started with three matches, nine points… and we
finished sixth. So after a good first day I am not going to lose my stability,
my discipline and let the players think differently from myself."
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