Jose Mourinho is continuing to alienate himself from his former club’s fan base after launching into a new attack on Chelsea’s “trendy tactics”.
Days removed from criticising his Stamford Bridge successor Antonio Conte’s style of management, the Manchester United boss has thrown further shade at the Italian’s preferred choice of formation.
Following his side’s 3-0 victory over Basel in the Champions League last night, the 54-year-old used his post-match press conference to draw parallels between the Swiss side and United’s Premier League rivals. In a thinly veiled dig at the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal’s recent 3-4-3 formations, he said: “I think [Basel] follow the trendy tactic of five in the back that some of your colleagues like to call three – but they are totally wrong, it is five.”
The Portuguese, however, did praise the Red Devils’ opponents for being “very well organised” and “showed their qualities” despite the lopsided scoreline. The win leaves Mourinho’s side in pole position in Group A, while Chelsea’s 6-0 rout of Azerbaijan’s Qarabag leaves the Blues sitting pretty on top of Group C.
Mourinho’s comments will cause little concern for Chelsea fans; after all, Conte employed the 3-4-3 to great effect last season, leading his side to the Premier League title.
Header image: “José Mourinho / Жозе Моуринь” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Aleksandr Osipov
