Jose Mourinho: Liverpool not the “last wonder of the world”

10/18/2016

Following the stalemate at Anfield, Jose Mourinho said Liverpool were not the "last wonder of the world" as the media make them to be. The Manchester United manager was also critical of Liverpool claiming that the Merseyside club were cautious in their approach to the game.

"They are not the last wonder of the world, like you like to say they are, but they are very good team," Jose Mourinho told a post-match conference.

"It was more difficult for them than it was for us. We kept control of the game for long periods. In the first half, we were completely in control. In the second half, David De Gea made two great saves but it was out of context.

“We stopped them playing but they also did very well from the defensive point of view. They played Can and Henderson for some reason and they did that for 90 minutes when they normally project more players in attack.

“They were very cautious. They kept always Can and Henderson in position. They had only one player behind the three more offensive players. I think it was their intention to try and control us, which they also did well.”

United successfully stopped a Liverpool side who had scored nine goals in their previous two games at Anfield, limiting the latter to shots from a distance. Mourinho defended his tactics against Liverpool stating that the for all the possession that Liverpool had they were only able to muster two shots on target in 90 minutes.

“Last season United won here when Liverpool had 14 shots on target and United had one. How many shots t did Liverpool have on target today? Two. Two shots on target with 65% of possession, you have to be critical of Liverpool. It is their problem, not our problem,” Mourinho explained.

United, who had just 35% possession, the lowest the club has managed since Opta started compiling statistics in 2003, had a great chance to come away from Liverpool with all three points had Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed the ball goal-wards in the second half.

"We had a big chance that I thought Zlatan was going to score. If he did, 1-0, goodbye, it's finished. We missed a little bit of sharpness through the middle, where Pogba was. I expected a bit more penetration," the Manchester United manager said.

Although Mourinho might see the result as a better one for his team, the 53-year-old could find himself in trouble with the Football Association for commenting on referee Anthony’s performance.

“Can I speak about the referee without being punished? He had a good game and I am happy for him because people with responsibilities put a lot of pressure on him and it was very difficult for him to have a good performance, which he had,” concluded the Portuguese manager.

Jose Mourinho: Liverpool not the “last wonder of the world”

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