José Mourinho may point to how all three of Tottenham’s goals were down to errors in his rearguard and use this as evidence of why he wanted an elite centre-back this summer. Yet closer examination makes a case that the manager himself is culpable for the leaky defence against Spurs and that its past record shows this should not be a problem department. Ander Herrera played Tottenham onside for Lucas Moura’s first goal, having been a Mourinho selection in an unfamiliar centre-back role in an (also new) 3-3-3-1. And what good has Mourinho’s public pursuit of a new centre-half done to the confidence of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling? Harry Kane outjumped Jones and Smalling was undone by Lucas’s trickery for the Brazilian’s second goal. Jones and Smalling have been an integral part of United conceding the second‑fewest Premier League goals in each of the manager’s two seasons, improving from 29 to 28. A focus on the defence is a distraction – the real issue is the lack of goals: only 54 and 68.
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