Jose Mourinho understandably wasn’t in the mood for perspective. He had just watched his Manchester United chuck away a lead against 10-man Leicester City and, even by his own standards, he was brutal in his assessment of his own players.
‘Childish’ was one word used; ‘joke’ was another. They hadn’t even followed basic instructions at the end when Chris Smalling, limping with an injury, was unable to move and thus couldn’t track Harry Maguire’s run for a glorious equalising goal with pretty much the last kick of the game. Ashley Young had been tasked with telling the team to protect Smalling; somehow the message hadn’t got through.
So it wasn’t surprising that Mourinho wasn’t ready to look at the bigger picture. But some context: after 19 games last season, the halfway point, they had 36 points and were sixth. After this game, at the same stage, they have 42 points and are second.
