LVG 'surprised' by Mourinho comments
At his latest press conference, Louis van Gaal took issue with Jose Mourinho’s analysis of the Manchester United and Chelsea match last weekend.
Louis van Gaal has admitted he was “surprised” by the post-match analysis from Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho after his side beat Manchester United last weekend.
United manager Van Gaal and Mourinho have shared a friendship since their days working together at Barcelona, yet it seems as if there is something of a difference of opinion between the two after last weekend’s 1-0 Chelsea win edged them closer to the Premier League title.
United dominated possession against a Chelsea side who were content to sit back and defend the first half goal they scored through Eden Hazard, with Mourinho suggesting his team were worthy winners in his post-match press conference.
Van Gaal begs to differ, as he suggested he would not have been keen to share a post-match glass of wine with his opposite number after he was made aware of his comments.
“I was surprised by what he said,” Van Gaal said in his Sunday newspaper briefing. “Football is not about counting possession, it’s about counting the goals and the result is 1-0. We have lost.
“But I was very surprised by the way Jose Mourinho has analysed the game. As a winning coach you can’t say everything, I know that.
“What he probably means to say, but I didn’t know because I cannot see in his head, was he knew in advance that Manchester United shall attack and that he was satisfied with a draw because we have had the same distance.
“So it was more easy to defend and also his lineup was defensive. But in spite of his defensive work, we have created a lot of chances and a lot of possession. It was nearly a miracle that they scored a goal out of four chances and had 30 percent possession.
“He meant to say he had changed his organisation, that he knew Manchester United shall attack and at the end, 1-0, that’s a result.”
Van Gaal confirmed he visited Mourinho’s office at Stamford Bridge after the game, but he suggested he was relieved that the Chelsea boss was not present for a post-match chat.
“I was in the manager’s room, but only his assistants were there and I could not speak with him,” Van Gaal added. “But after his analysis of the game, I would not have wanted to discuss that with him.”
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