The Manchester Derby’s Heavyweight Clash Offers Plenty of Hope for Jose Mourinho

The heavyweight managerial clash between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola saw a near-knockout punch thrown in the first half. Mourinho began by taking a wild swing with his team selection, bringing Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan into the fold, starters for the first time in the league under the new Manchester United boss.

It was a swing that left United unbalanced, and Guardiola’s Manchester City fired a quick one-two combination in retaliation, which left the red side of Manchester reeling. The contest, so eagerly anticipated, so hyped around the world, was almost over before it had started.

A game of two halves. Watch part of Jose Mourinho’s post-match press conference. #MUFC #MUTVHD https://t.co/6ast0IbIhm

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 10, 2016

But United under Mourinho are a different prospect than they have been in recent seasons, and with a combination of grit and quality, they dragged themselves back into contention with a Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal. Claudio Bravo flapped at a deep cross, and United’s newest talisman controlled his finish beautifully.

Ibrahimovic should have taken advantage of Bravo’s ironic distribution error moments to take the Red Devils into the break with the score tied.

A level score would clearly not have been an accurate reflection of the balance of play throughout the half, but the five-minute spell before the break saw the United faithful believe again. A deafening chant of “We Love United, We Do” rang out from the Stretford End.

Standing there, it was loud enough to drown out the traditional “Glory, Glory Man United” which blared over the P.A. So often in the Louis van Gaal era that song had felt ironic. There was little glory in sterile possession. But while United had risked embarrassment from their first-half start, there was plenty of glory in their fightback.

It’s pretty tense in the #ManchesterDerby. Just ask @rioferdy5…! #MUNMCI pic.twitter.com/YOQc8pgVIy

— Premier League (@premierleague) September 10, 2016

But of course, in spite of their resilience, the damage had been done. Lingard and Mkhitaryan proved an unsuccessful gamble.

Neither played well, but Lingard seemed to draw the most ire from supporters. While plenty of reds admire his work rate, and there is plenty of affection for him given his homegrown status, there is also a lot of frustration expressed when he makes mistakes.

During this game, he earned some of that frustration, failing to act as an outlet for pressure on a couple of occasions, at one point trying a flick that went so wrong it resulted in him punching the ball out of play.

Mkhitaryan will bring a lot to United as the season progresses, but his home debut was less than impressive. He looked a little nervous on the ball, often running into trouble, though he improved a little as the half ran on.

It was crucial that United’s wide-forwards played well, too, given how much space City had …

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