17 Oct 2016

Mourinho: How we'll approach Anfield trip


 
Jose Mourinho says there is only one thing on his mind when it comes to his approach for Monday's visit to Liverpool - victory for Manchester United.
The Reds have lost just once in the last five league trips to Anfield, winning three of those matches, including last season's smash-and-grab triumph thanks to Wayne Rooney's late winner.

Mourinho knows how it feels to win on Merseyside having guided former club Chelsea to victory in four out of six league matches at Anfield. The United boss is aiming for another three points on Monday and when asked if he would take things more cautiously this time, Mourinho insisted his side will be as positive as always in the approach to the match.
"We will try to win, that is for sure. When they have the ball we have to defend and when we have the ball we have to attack," he told reporters.
"We want to stop them scoring and the best way to do this is with 11 men and to score we want to be dominant, have the ball and this is what we are doing. It won't be the same as last season where Liverpool had a lot of shots on target and United had one and the result was 0-1. We still have to improve on many things, but we will continue to keep playing as we are playing. We have a certain style of play and are not going to change that."
Mourinho will be looking to his big-game players to produce on the night, with the likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic likely to be key. The United manager was asked specifically about the influence Ibrahimovic has had on the squad so far and he gave an interesting insight into the striker's desire to help the Reds be successful in every competition this season.
"He's been an example for sure - he is fantastic," declared Mourinho. "He was not supposed to play against Northampton [in the EFL Cup], but because we lost the match before he came to me and said I don't need three days off, I want to come to that match as maybe the team needs me."
When pushed further on whether the 35-year-old's experience would be important for an occasion like Monday night, the boss added: "I am going to pick the team based not on these factors. If he plays then it is because he is an important player in my team and he is playing really well, not because of his record or that he is experienced."

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