Jose Mourinho got his infamous bus out for Anfield.
Modern football is defined by those that inherited the Barcelona legacy of Johan Cryuff. As current Manchester City and former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola put it: "Cruyff painted the chapel, and Barcelona coaches since merely restore and improve it." And yet from those group of angels emerged Mourinho, a man who would nuke the chapel if it helped him win. Like Milton’s Satan he would rather ‘reign in hell’.
Throughout his career Mourinho has stood firm as the man holding up the anti-Barcelona flag, a man obsessed with the results, aesthetics be dammed.
His tactics, often criticised by pundits, have earned him plaudits, even helping him land up at Old Trafford but a lot of Manchester United fans had misgivings from Mourinho. That when the going gets tough, the bus comes out, and we saw it epitomised at Anfield.
Despite the fact that Manchester United have been playing exhilarating football, while Liverpool have been dire, Mourinho decided to play with precautionary tactics that gave new meaning to the old Italian style of Catenaccio (or doorbolt).
While Mourinho’s ultra-defensive tactics have paid dividends, most famously against Barcelona in the Champions League two-leg semi-finals in 2010, it’s hard to understand why he would do it against a sub-par Liverpool who are nothing close to the dream team assembled around Lionel Messi.
As Jurgen Klopp jibed after the match on Manchester United’s tactics: “For sure you could not play this way at Liverpool FC but it's ok for Manchester United."
While Klopp’s comment will infuriate the Red Devils, at the bottom of their hearts, they will know that their rival manager is right. Parking the bus, even at Anfield, wasn’t the Manchester United way.
That Mourinho had chosen the ‘park the bus’ tactic was evident when he picked Ashley Young ahead of Juan Mata in his starting XI, a clear indication that a defensive winger was more needed than a creative player who could unlock a defence.
Liverpool were far better than Manchester United on the day and would’ve been ahead if it hadn’t been for the Jedi-like reflexes of David De Gea, who kept out Joel Matip out from close range with his legs. Lukaku, who has been rampant this season, had only one chance that he fluffed, that infuriated Thierry Henry who quipped: “I think the way the game has been going for him, he wasn’t concentrated enough on finishing.”
The big Belgian barely got a touch of the ball throughout the game and only David de Gea, Anthony Martial and Nemanja Matic will look back at this night with any real fondness.
That United were willing to settle, nay even celebrate a point at Anfield, became evident when Jose Mourinho took off Ashley Young in injury time to replace him with centre-back Victor Lindelof.
Perhaps Klopp will be joyous that Mourinho treated Liverpool with so much respect, but Mourinho won’t care. Because all The Special One cares about is winning, at any cost, and if that means grinding out boring draws against top sides while steamrolling past lower teams, so be it.
As Mourinho had quipped, ““There are lots of poets in football, but poets don’t win many titles.” Manchester United fans, facing a bleak future since Ferguson’s retirement, would probably accept Mourinho’s ‘anti-football’ tactics from time to time, but they will wonder if the deal with this particular devil is worth it.
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 "Jose Mourinho")
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