What Jose Mourinho Has Told His Players Ahead Of West Brom Clash
Reuters/Carl Recine
Jose Mourinho is said to have studied West Bromwich Albion’s style of play, and has noted their time wasting tactic as a major concern.
The Red Devils travel to the Hawthorns today, and are desperate to secure the three points and avoid any slip ups, otherwise the thread that their title hopes are clinging onto will be cut for sure.
Man City are storming away, and United go into this game 14 points behind them at the top, after the ‘noisy neighbours’ ran amok in a 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Chelsea have also caught up, and are now level on points with Mourinho’s men. Therefore, a defeat to the Baggies will make it all the more difficult for the Red Devils to hold on to second place.
Hence, Mourinho has been studying and analyzing his opponents very carefully, and is determined to secure all three points. However, he has come across one of Alan Pardew’s tactics that helped frustrate Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in a 0-0 draw, and is keen to prevent it at all costs.
According to ESPN, the English boss encourages his team to follow his ‘game-slowing’ tactic, where they quite literally slow the game down by taking longer with their set pieces and throw ins. Goalkeeper Ben Foster is one of the main culprits, often taking a lot of time for his goal kicks.
ESPN claim that United’s analysts calculated a total of 6 minutes wasted in the first half by Baggies against Liverpool, and they followed that up by wasting a further 11 in the second.
Therefore, Mourinho has warned his team about this tactic, and has urged them to do as much as they can to stop it.
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