On Wednesday, Jose Mourinho said his team scored four goals and tied 2-2. On Saturday his team scored four goals and won 4-1.
It’s a common refrain to say Jose Mourinho loves boring, defensive football. It’s mostly true these days, especially as he seems to favor long balls to big men in the box over any sort of technical play. His best results of the season (the win over Juventus springs to mind) have come via Route 1 football.
Manchester United and Arsenal’s 2-2 draw on Wednesday at Old Trafford was downright absurd at times. But given all the oddities in the Man U vs Arsenal highlights, one stands out as being a real missed opportunity for an inventive winner. And this match deserved a winner.
Referee Andre Marriner had a complicated match to officiate and whether you’re an Arsenal fan, Manchester United fan or a neutral, you probably don’t think he had a very good performance. Goal-line technology was called into use but you feel VAR would’ve aided this game immensely.
If you’re a supporter of Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus or Bayern Munich and you’re looking to distinguish yourself in 2019, look no further than this collaboration between adidas and EA Sports. These “Digital 4th Kits” are inspired by FIFA, and although they’ll be available for use in FIFA Ultimate Team, you can also cop the actual limited-edition jerseys from online club stores (retailing for $98).
Jose Mourinho likes to call himself the Special One and pump up his accomplishments. But right now, he’s just the Lucky One.
He’s lucky to have David De Gea in goal making otherworldly saves. He’s lucky to not have VAR in the Champions League or Premier League, helping his club score late goals. And he’s lucky that water bottles are not sentient beings who fight back.
We could make references to Samson and his hair or joke about awful World Cup hairdos of the past, but really, what’s even the point anymore. Almost a year to the day since Kyle Beckerman lost his dreads, the iconic Marouane Fellaini hair is no more.
Sunday wasn’t Raheem Sterling’s greatest individual display as an attacker, but the 23-year-old again demonstrated why he’s such a vital part of Pep Guardiola’s side — and completely unmatched in his skill set within the England national team — by retaining possession in difficult areas and constantly pulling Manchester United’s well-organized, pressing defensive unit this way and that with his array of clever flicks, dribbles and one-touch passing.
Manchester City achieved what Juventus could not on Sunday, burying Manchester United when another Jose Mourinho smash and grab threatened. Sumptuous goals from David Silva and Sergio Aguero had given City a 2-0 lead, but a needless foul by Ederson on Romelu Lukaku allowed Anthony Martial to halve the deficit in the 58th minute.
Try though he might, Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to score on his return to Old Trafford with Juventus a couple weeks ago, though he did record an assist . But with Manchester United coming to Allianz Stadium on Wednesday, the Portuguese star reminded his former club how great he’s become since leaving England in 2009 with a brilliant strike.
If everything goes according to plan — and, as the numbers to come show, it almost certainly will — the USWNT will reach the milestone of 500 wins with a victory over Portugal on Thursday. Having only begun play in 1985, the program has reached the mark at a fiendish pace by rolling off wins at a remarkable clip — the USWNT boasts a win percentage of 84. That certainly puts the USWNT in the discussion for the winningest team in sports history.