He definitely got his point across.
At half-time of what turned out to be a heavyweight Premier League clash for the ages, Manchester United looked dead and buried. 2-0 down and struggling to cope in the face of relentless pressure from arch-rivals Manchester City, there didn’t seem to be a way back.
The biggest takeaway from the first half had been how Pep Guardiola’s rampant champions-elect hadn’t scored four or five. They really should have and, considering what happened next, their lack of a clinical edge turned out to be fatal.
As Guardiola was presumably ripping into his players for missing several gilt-edged opportunities, Jose Mourinho had some choice words of his own for the demoralised United crop in the away dressing room.
What was said certainly had the desired effect. United came roaring back with a Paul Pogba brace and a goal from Chris Smalling turning the match on its head, delaying City’s title celebrations and adding to their torment at the end of a harrowing week following their 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.
Following the game, Smalling faced the Sky Sports cameras and revealed how Mourinho had addressed his troops during the break, spurring them on and sending them back out to battle.
“At half-time we were feeling sorry for ourselves, we wanted to go out there and play with pride and thought we fully deserved it in the end,” Smalling said.
“We knew ourselves as players it was a poor performance. The first half was terrible, we dropped off, didn’t play our game, and they could have been out of sight.
“He (Mourinho) said that we didn’t want to be the clowns standing there watching them get their title. City have been fantastic here all season, but we stepped up and won the game.”
No caption needed. #MUFC #GGMU #ManUtd pic.twitter.com/bxZSdYCBCe
— Chris Smalling (@ChrisSmalling) April 7, 2018
It’s interesting that Mourinho trotted out that line because, as Times journalist Oliver Kay pointed out, he said the exact same thing to Chelsea players before they played a title-chasing Liverpool at Anfield in April 2014. Chelsea went onto to win 2-0, denying the Reds the chance to win their first-ever league title.
Chris Smalling re Mourinho's words at half-time: "He said we didn't want to be the clowns standing there watching them get their title."
This is precisely what said to Chelsea's players before that game at Anfield in April 2014. It's a strange thing, motivation. #MUFC #MCFC
— Oliver Kay (@OliverKay) April 7, 2018
In his post-match comments, Mourinho claimed that United pressing higher was key to rattling City and shattering their footballing nirvana.
“We moved the ball, more than any team has against Manchester City. We pressed a bit higher and we keep the shape to get a good result,” he said.
“Our challenge is to finish second but I want to congratulate City for the title because they are going to win and deservedly. My objective here was to get points and not spoil any celebrations.”
