Football
Men divided at Man United: How Mourinho falls to Lampard after fallout with Pogba
By Ediale Kingsley
A sad one for Jose Mourinho. However, it is football. You don’t win all life long.
The only issue here is the actor in the show:
— the braggadocious Jose Mourinho,
— the self-acclaimed special one, and
— the chief-insult-disburser (ask Arsene Wenger)
These are why it feels particularly strange that a baby manager, Frank Lampard came to Old Trafford to put a show and take a bow over the banishment of the Red Devils from the Carabao Cup. The game was 2-2 before the penalty shootout, after the shootout, it was 7-8.
The 8th kick for Manchester United decided to be unspectacular and Jones-the-kicker took the blame for that.
Saw the game and duff my hat for the spirit of Lampard and his boys. Who despite starting the game at a deficit, 3mins into the first half, wouldn’t be discouraged.
This defeat for Man United comes after a show of internal sickness between leaders of the board and the leader of the coaching staff in one hand. And a fallout between the same leader of the coaching crew and deputy captain of the players.
All isn’t well. The men at Man United are truly divided. And as Lampard walks out a hero. Beating his former boss in style. We see the prognostications and without gifted in soothsaying, we can say this is one and first of series of knockouts to expect from the once upon a time ‘Theatre Of Dreams’.
Now the club is in a dilemma. To sack or to allow the rottenness spread? The choice isn’t ours to make. But we owe you what they said before and after the match.
Mourinho After The Match:
We need to go and kill the game, which we could not. We could not dominate at the start of the second.
We only went for it after the 1-1. And I do not prefer that: I want to be proactive, not reactive.
Somebody has to miss. When it went to six or seven, I knew we had Eric and Jones and we were in trouble.
What do you want me to say? Did we play an incredible match? The Carabao Cup is not a worry any more.
The new rules put the favourite team in more danger. With 30 minutes of after time, you would normally win the match.
No fall-out with Paul, no problem at all. I am the manager and I make the decisions.
Jose Mourinho Before The Match:
I give a rest to Paul, to Luke, to Victor, to Valencia, to David. I know that these players need a rest.
It is not strange to be rivals as managers, it is nice. He is one of the best players I worked with one of the most professional.
Our relations is obviously good. He is coming here to win the match
Frank Lampard Before The Match:
We want to compete, we want to get a result.
He did so much for my career at Chelsea.
It will be lovely to see him before, maybe we’ll have a chat after but once it’s out there it’s game on.
You could see the energies that followed both managers into the game. One manager went in high, the other, low.
-
News3 days agoFRSC opens 2026 nationwide recruitment, online applications begin July 3
-
Football7 days agoAfrica breaks World Cup record with seven teams in knockout stage
-
Entertainment4 days agoActress Cossy Ojiakor shares flooded home as heavy rainfall wreaks havoc in Lagos
-
Football1 week agoNetherlands to face Morocco, Brazil draw Japan in 2026 World Cup round of 32
-
Business6 days agoLogistics bottlenecks threaten Nigeria’s economic growth, industry leaders warn
-
Business1 week agoNAFDAC, FCCPC others partners OSOA Foods advocacy on food safety, MSME growth
-
Business6 days agoInflation, high interest rates loom as FG credit hits N40.38tn
-
Business3 days agoMRS slashes petrol price by N50/Litre as Dangote Refinery cuts fuel costs