A football match involving José Mourinho begins and ends with the press conferences. The unpredictability of a Mourinho press conference is one of the most popular things about English football and many would be grateful for its return this week. In his last such session before the season came to a halt, troubled by an injury list the size of a supermarket bill, he had wished that he could fast-forward himself straight to July. He wanted to get his players back and start the new season afresh. Depending on which side of superstition you walk on, that statement, in the context of current reality, was either comic or eerily prophetic.
Speaking to the press through video on Friday, he was relaxed and composed, happy to talk up Marcus Rashford – who wouldn’t – and generally in a friendly mood. It wasn’t quite the beginning of a new season, as he had wished back in March, but this came as close to one as a restart can get. He likes his season openers. In the 15 that he has managed, Mourinho has won 10 and drawn the other 5. In an interview with SkySports last August, he spoke, almost with a twinkle in his eye, about how he treats the first match of a season like a cup final.
“It’s a different feeling, like Matchday 1 in a way,” he said, when asked about his team’s rhythm going into the game last night. And thus, we had liftoff. Jose was back, and the battle lines had been drawn.
Manchester United started the game with fluidity and rhythm; Spurs, like a typical Mourinho team, were happy to let them. For the first fifteen minutes, they didn’t press United’s defenders and rarely put pressure on Bruno Fernandes or Fred unless the game moved deep into their own half. By the twentieth minute, United were operating at a passing accuracy of 90%. Spurs never quite lost shape, and with Son and Bergwijn on the flanks, were waiting for an opening to use their pace on the counter.
Look, you can say what you want about his management style, but Mourinho knows his football, and he knows his footballers. He has built an illustrious career out of the ability to spot chinks in opposition armours, and he knew this United team were going to make their mistakes. In the 26th minute, Luke Shaw, under seemingly no pressure, misplaced an easy header. It was the only invitation Steven Bergwijn needed. He ran like a freight train at the United defence, past Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof and anyone else who tried to get near him, and upon entering the box, lashed a shot too powerful for David De Gea’s palms. 1-0. De Gea isn’t the point-winning goalkeeper he once used to be, and you can imagine Mourinho, having seen him up close for three years, would’ve instructed his forwards to take their shots.