Analysing Surprise Selections Jose Mourinho Has Made So Far at Manchester United

The most surprising aspect of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United reign so far can be summed up in two words: Juan Mata. 

However, his selection of the diminutive Spain international whom he sold to United in the first place is not his only surprise move. The use of Marouane Fellaini, the current centre-back pairing and Antonio Valencia have all been met with raised eyebrows and quizzical looks.

A few games into the season, and it is clearly working—for now at least. Let’s take a more in-depth look at what he is doing and why.

The Juan Mata Question

A great deal of brouhaha surrounded Mourinho’s decision to take Mata off after bringing him on as a substitute.

The manager explained his case pretty simply in the post-game press conference. First off, he felt he needed to make a tactical substitution to break up the impetus of Leicester City’s attacks.

Secondly, given Leicester were firing balls into the box as often as possible, including their goalkeeper in attacks and generally making sure the entire kitchen sink was launched at United’s back four, Mourinho did not want to lose any height from his team. Mata was the smallest player on the pitch, so taking him off made sense.

He’s had a good weekendhttps://t.co/WGCZ1fL3di #MUFC

— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) August 15, 2016

Any merit the “this is Mourinho secretly trying to break Mata’s spirit” argument may have had was swiftly dispelled by the manager’s surprising decision to include his former Chelsea charge in the starting XI of both of his first two Premier League games.

Not only that, but Mata featured in the right-wing berth that seemed a kind of logical impossibility when Mourinho took over. Previous expectations were being reset. Indeed, Duncan Castles of the Daily Record wrote on 15 August:

Mata has impressed Mourinho with his willingness to follow tactical instructions both more demanding than those asked of him by Louis van Gaal, and requiring him to operate away from the Spaniard’s preferred No. 10 role. “Jose loves the guy,” a close friend told The Daily Record. “He works well and is a good player. Maybe not for 90 minutes, but very good for 60 minutes.”

It may be a little unfair to suggest Mourinho’s requirements are more demanding than Van Gaal’s were. Indeed, Muhammad Butt of Squawka in his “Five things we learned: Manchester United vs. Southampton” video, cited Van Gaal’s influence on Mata, turning him into the hardworking, tactically disciplined wide man he has become.

VIDEO: Five things @MochineGun learned from Man United’s 2-0 win vs. Southampton – https://t.co/qgX6kczN3l pic.twitter.com/jmHttnObtw

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 19, 2016

So other than a newly discovered work rate and a propensity to put up defensive numbers—he is averaging 2.4 tackles, 1.2 crosses blocked and 0.6 passes blocked per 90 minutes this season—why is Mourinho picking Mata? 

The player he is most obviously keeping out of the side at the moment is Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian showed flashes of brilliance in his debut cameo appearance at Old Trafford on Friday night and Mourinho praised him after the game.

Perhaps the manager does not think he is quite ready …

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