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Manchester United: Mourinho defiant after Liverpool draw; Rooney ‘hurt’; Neymar chances dashed
Jose Mourinho was in his usual defiant mood after picking up a point in a dull 0-0 draw at Anfield last night as he criticised Jurgen Klopp’s team for playing defensively, and then shocked journalists by returning to the press room to dispute the possession statistic supplied by Opta. The quote him as saying:
“You like to say they [Liverpool] are the last wonder of the world in attacking football but they also defend and like to think defensively.”
Journalist claims that Mourinho accused Klopp of playing both Emre Can and Jordan Henderson as holding midfielders and nullifying the game, which was a disappointing and dull affair. However, it was his surprise return that shocked the press as he claimed that United’s possession was 42%, not the reported 35% that was the lowest figure United have had since the 2002/03 season when records for possession were first collected.
Speaking ahead of the Anfield clash, Mourinho also revealed that his captain was hurt by criticism in the media. The Portuguese manager has previously blaimed the press for his poor performances after he was slammed by some for his poor displays for England against Slovakia in September, and the claim Mourinho revealed:
I think what you could hurt, you did already. I don’t think you can do more. So I think in this moment it is time for him to recover from what was done to him and the best place for him to do that is feeling like he feels at home here. I’m not saying that he is low. You can hurt me but you can’t put me down — I think he’s the same… He didn’t lose his place. Not at all. For me, he’s first choice. If somebody confused him, it was not me. But he can play everywhere, no problem.
Rooney was once again a spectator for much of the tie at Anfield as he was restricted to a substitute appearance in the closing stages of the match with him having little opportunity to win three points for his side.
FC Barcelona have announced that Neymar will sign a new contract on Friday which will keep him at the club until 2021, seemingly dashing any hopes retained by the Red Devils of landing the left sided attacker. Whilst those chances seemed slim, they will now be close to zero.
It’s a blow for Jose Mourinho and Ed Woodward’s galáctico inspired transfer policy to miss out on one of the world’s biggest stars, and it now seems inevitable that the club will turn their attentions to Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezman
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