Former Liverpool midfielder Steve McMahon was a guest on Sky Sports’ Debate Show on Friday night, and it’s fair to say that he hasn’t been left impressed with Jose Mourinho.
The Man Utd boss has attracted his fair share of criticism this season, as he has been accused of adopting negative and defensive-minded tactics, particularly in the big games against direct rivals.
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That has been apparent in clashes with Liverpool, Tottenham and Man City this year, where the emphasis has seemingly been placed on not allowing the opposition to be a danger as opposed to going out to win the game.
Naturally, there are examples which argue the opposite, as seen in the recent win at home against Liverpool, but McMahon wants to see the Red Devils play a more attacking game against City this weekend, in a game in which their rivals could land the Premier League title with a win.
“He will not want to do that, so he will park the bus,” he said, as per Sky Sports. “There is a duty for Mourinho – for Man United supporters all over the world. There was roughly one billion people watching the game in Asia when United went to Anfield (in October) and he parked the bus for a goalless draw.
“That is not good enough. He owes the Premier League, Man Utd and everybody in world football to perform. And he may say ‘I am in the results business,’ but he is in the entertainment business as well.”
McMahon does make a valid point, and he added another important argument that Mourinho will only risk more criticism if he plays negatively and City still win.
However, unless they produce something close to a perfect performance going with an attacking attitude, they risk being pulled apart by one of the best technical sides in Europe, with Guardiola’s men scoring 88 goals in 31 league games this season.
With the obvious motivation of winning to secure the title against their rivals, it could play right into the hands of the league leaders on this occasion.