Chapter 408: The Red Showdown
After finishing the first leg of the League Cup semi-final against Hull City, the match against Liverpool was imminent, and the entire Manchester United squad entered the final preparation phase.
Nearly three months had passed since their first encounter with Liverpool, and the situation for both teams had changed.
Before the first leg of the Red Showdown three months ago, Manchester United had won seven consecutive league games and ten consecutive matches across all competitions. However, since most of their opponents were not particularly strong, and they had only beaten one top team, Manchester City, both the Red Devils and their coach, Mourinho, faced significant doubts.
But now, Mourinho had become a hero at Old Trafford, even more celebrated than the team's star player, Bruno. When he faced criticism and accusations from outside, everyone from the club's owner, Jassim, and general manager, Giaretta, to the ordinary fans and players, fully supported Mourinho. Such treatment was something no previous Manchester United manager had ever enjoyed, making it feel as if the club had returned to the Ferguson era. Mourinho had completely won over everyone at Old Trafford, inside and out. The entire Manchester United team now looked up to Mourinho as their leader.
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Mourinho's immense popularity was well deserved—just look at what he had accomplished with Manchester United! The 2016-2017 season was already halfway through, and Manchester United had played 32 matches across all competitions, winning 31 of them, with their only loss being in the ninth round of the league at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
In the first 20 rounds of the Premier League, they had secured 19 victories. After an eight-game winning streak, they achieved another eleven consecutive wins in the Premier League, scoring an astonishing 60 goals while conceding only 17, showcasing outstanding performance in both attack and defense. They were like a strong shield with a sharp spear.
Additionally, they were the only team in Europe to have won every home game across all competitions. At Old Trafford, they had played 17 matches, dominating strong rivals like Manchester City, Arsenal, and Tottenham. In these 17 games, Manchester United scored 48 goals, averaging almost three goals per game, making their attack the most powerful in Europe.
Their away performance was equally impressive, with 14 wins and 1 loss in 15 matches, scoring 45 goals—an even higher scoring rate than at home!
This sharp attack and solid defense were the hallmarks of Mourinho's Manchester United. After 20 rounds, with 19 wins and 1 loss, Mourinho's Manchester United became the best-starting team in Premier League history, breaking the record for points accumulated in the first 20 rounds, surpassing the best start he had previously set with Chelsea.
This Manchester United was no longer the "fake powerhouse" that had been bullied by everyone in the past three years. Chelsea was also performing well this season, but despite their form, they were firmly suppressed by Manchester United on the Premier League standings, trailing by eight points. Many Chelsea fans believed their team had already lost hope of competing for the league title.
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Manchester United's overall excellence was matched by outstanding individual performances from their players.
Take the team's star player and absolute core, Bruno Fernandes, for example. Bruno had scored 25 goals in 20 league matches, dominating all of Europe in terms of scoring efficiency. Not only could he score himself, but he also created opportunities for his teammates. He was currently the Premier League's assist king with 15 assists. Such stats were usually enough to secure the assist title in most seasons, yet these were just his numbers after 20 rounds of the league.
Almost everyone believed that his performance at Manchester United had surpassed the club's four legendary figures: Bobby Charlton, Denis Law, George Best, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Besides Bruno's exceptional performance, the other players were also doing well, which was another reason for Manchester United's strong dominance.
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This Manchester United team was even tougher to deal with than the one Liverpool faced in October.
The British media generally believed that Liverpool's chances of winning against this Manchester United were very slim.
Although Liverpool, under Klopp, had not performed poorly this season—having achieved 13 wins, 4 draws, and 3 losses in the first 20 rounds, currently sitting third in the Premier League standings—they still trailed by a significant 12 goals, even though they were the second-highest scoring team after Manchester United.
What made Liverpool fans even more desperate was the huge difference in squad depth between the two teams. Mourinho's Manchester United was well-stocked, capable of easily forming two strong eleven-man lineups, which was key to their ability to maintain a winning streak across all competitions despite the dense schedule and intense matches. On the other hand, Klopp struggled to put together even one decent starting lineup.
Despite this, everyone at Liverpool had to maintain a must-win mentality because they could no longer afford to lose!
Before this second leg of the Red Showdown, Liverpool had already gone three matches without a win across all competitions. If they lost again at Old Trafford, they would not only suffer a fourth consecutive winless match but would also fall 17 points behind Manchester United in the Premier League standings.
With only 17 rounds remaining in the league, Liverpool would be forced to bid farewell to this season's Premier League title race ahead of time!
Even if they were outmatched, they might still manage a draw. But if they aimed only for a draw from the start, they would surely end up losing.
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Klopp was a smart man, a pragmatist. He knew that the upcoming derby against Manchester United was of utmost importance, which was why he rested their midfield core, Coutinho, in the League Cup semi-final against Southampton.
Liverpool's players would also be well aware of this, knowing that the interest in the League Cup was nowhere near as high as in the national derby. For Liverpool's players, the most important thing was not reaching the League Cup final but the derby against Manchester United.
They would also be afraid of getting injured. After all, Liverpool's squad depth was nowhere near Manchester United's. If an injury occurred during the match, Klopp wouldn't even be able to find a suitable replacement.
Therefore, Mourinho's tactical strategy for Manchester United was to play rougher and tougher in defense, making Liverpool's players believe they were at constant risk of injury. This would cause them to hold back and not fully exert themselves in the match. As long as the players didn't perform at their best, no matter how brilliant Klopp was, it wouldn't matter.
That was Mourinho's cunning plan.
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The Manchester United vs. Liverpool match was the final match of the 21st round of the Premier League, and in the earlier matches involving strong teams, almost all of them secured big wins.
Tottenham thrashed West Brom 4-0 at home, Arsenal also won 4-0 away against Swansea, and Chelsea secured a 3-0 victory away against Leicester City, pushing Conte's Italian compatriot, who had just won FIFA's Best Coach award, further towards the brink of disaster.
When two compatriots meet, how can there be tears of joy without stabbing each other in the back?
Of course, Conte had his reasons for needing to win the match; after all, his Chelsea still had aspirations of contending for this season's Premier League title.
Meanwhile, in the spotlight match on Sunday afternoon, Guardiola was harshly schooled by his former Barcelona teammate Ronald Koeman at Goodison Park, leading his Manchester City side to a crushing 4-0 defeat.
After this loss, Manchester City, despite playing one more game, trailed Manchester United by 18 points, effectively ruling them out of the Premier League title race.
In the eyes of the British media, this was also the match that saw Guardiola completely fall from grace. Guardiola and his Manchester City no longer had the swagger of the three straight wins they had at the start of the season. The British media unanimously declared that Manchester City's goal should no longer be to compete with Manchester United for the title, but to secure a spot in next season's Champions League. As for Guardiola, his focus should be on keeping his job rather than competing with Mourinho for the title of the world's best football coach.
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Both Manchester United and Liverpool placed the utmost importance on this Red Showdown. Despite Liverpool's injury woes, Klopp still brought all his available first-team players to Manchester.
On Manchester United's side, Mourinho also placed great emphasis on this match.
There was no need to explain how important this match was to him.
In the pre-match tactical meeting, he focused on analyzing Liverpool's recent performances, especially emphasizing the need to pay close attention to the following players: Coutinho, Henderson, and Mané.
These were Liverpool's best-performing players at the moment. Mané had already shown great promise during his time at Southampton, but under Klopp at Liverpool, he had made significant progress, now exhibiting the qualities of a major star.
"We can't view Mané with the same old eyes. He's more threatening and clever now than he was at Southampton. So, during the match, we must mark him closely!"
There was no need to elaborate on Coutinho's threat. He was currently shining bright as Liverpool's undisputed midfield core. According to British media reports, he was one of Bruno's main rivals for the best player of the season award.
As for Henderson, attention was necessary because he was Liverpool's true playmaker, just as Bruno was for Manchester United. Henderson's role at Liverpool was just as important, though he wasn't as flashy as Bruno at United because Liverpool had plenty of bigger stars than him. But ignoring him would be a costly mistake.
Henderson was assigned to Kanté.
Emre Can, being a defensive midfielder, could be overlooked as his contributions to the attack were minimal.
"We don't need to worry about Liverpool's style or football. As long as we stick to our football, we'll be fine!"
(End of Chapter)
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