da prosport bet： When it was announced that Jose Mourinho would be replacing Louis Van Gaal as Manchester United manager last summer, it was meant to signal that United were back.
da dobrowin： Despite Mourinho’s ill-fated final season at Chelsea, the fans were expecting a title challenge from the man who seemed to guarantee silverware.
The Portuguese won a combined eight titles and 14 cups during his time at FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. He even started his Manchester United career with a 2-1 Community Shield win against Leicester City.
But things haven’t quite clicked for him at Old Trafford just yet. While there haven’t been any of the rows with physios or bottom-half slumps that plagued his final few months at Stamford Bridge, you would expect Manchester United to be performing slightly better than the sixth place they find themselves in so far – nine points off Mourinho’s former club, Chelsea, who occupy top spot.
[ffc_insert title=”” name=”FM17 Project” image_ link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/championship/aston-villa/villans-to-heroes-the-fm17-aston-villa-project-episode-two” link_text=”Episode Two” ]
United fans would at least have hoped the Red Devils would be in the top four – and maybe even challenging at the top – after breaking the transfer window to sign Paul Pogba, spending another £35m on Henrikh Mkhitaryan and bringing in legendary striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free.
Pogba and Ibrahimovic have been underwhelming and Mkhitaryan hasn’t even had a look-in this season – until now.
Thursday night’s 4-0 Europa League win over Feyenoord may just be the turning point in their season for a number of reasons.
It had seemed like United might struggle to qualify from Group A after a 2-1 loss to Fenerbahce saw them fall to third place behind the Dutch side. Thursday’s thrashing seems to have turned that on its head however, with the Red Devils now needing only a point against lowly Zorya Luhansk to progress.
If United aren’t able to finish in the top four they may just be looking at winning the Europa League to secure Champions League qualification – and performances like that against Feyenoord are exactly the way to do it.
Mkhitaryan was one of a number of players who impressed in the win. According to Whoscored, the Armenian completed two dribbles and three key passes, also providing a goal threat with six shots. It will come as a relief for a player who must have been wondering whether his Old Trafford career was going the same way as expensive foreign imports like Falcao and Angel Di Maria.
Mourinho has always claimed to be waiting for Mkhitaryan to adapt and Thursday’s performance showed that rather than draining the 27-year-old of confidence by continually leaving him out, he has actually helped protect him.
After all, the Armenian had been given a start in the Manchester derby and was substituted after 45 minutes. It has since emerged he may have still been recovering from an injury on international duty prior the to the match.
This explains not only why Mkhitaryan had such little impact on the game, but perhaps also why Mourinho wasn’t keen to rush him back. On Thursday’s evidence, he may have been right.
Another situation Mourinho deserves praise for handling is that of Wayne Rooney. The 31-year-old has notoriously struggled with form for a while now and many wondered what role he would play under the Portuguese.
Mourinho backed his captain without hesitation and kept with the England striker for as long as he could even when he was out of form before eventually dropping him against Leicester City. Instead of ostracising Rooney however (as he has done with players in the past), the manager continued to talk up his influence and played him in Europe.
While Rooney still isn’t back to his best, his European contribution has gone under the radar. He delivered the assist for Ibrahimovic’s winner against Zorya and scored a stunning goal against Fenerbahce. After a fine performance on Thursday, the 31-year-old is on two goals and three assists from his last four European games.
While it is too soon to say Rooney and Mkhitaryan will turn United’s season around completely, it is encouraging to see them both part of such a fluid attacking performance. It may have taken a bit of time, but perhaps Thursday night is the signal of intent Manchester United fans have been waiting for.
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