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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
tom dutton

Liverpool troll Jose Mourinho over Tottenham tactics in official matchday programme

Liverpool took a cheeky swipe at Jose Mourinho's tactics in their official matchday programme ahead of Sunday's 2-0 victory over Manchester United.

Tottenham boss Mourinho faced criticism for his "pragmatic" approach to last weekend's meeting with the runaway Premier League leaders in north London.

Mourinho named five defenders in his side, with Serge Aurier and debutant Japhet Tanganga doubling up at right-back, and managed just 28 per cent possession as Liverpool sealed a 1-0 victory.

In a reflective piece in their programme which picked out statistics from the win over Spurs, Liverpool suggested the hosts had lined up without an offensive player.

It said: "Line-up (4-6-0): Gazzaniga, Tanganga, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Rose (Lamela 69), Aurier, Eriksen, (Lo Celso 69), Moura, Alli, Winks, Son."

Mourinho was branded "outdated" by Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville for his approach to the clash, but the Portuguese manager defended his tactics last week when confronted about the way his side had set up in a home against a Premier League rival.

“You go for every game and you try, even if you have to be more strategic than philosophical," he told reporters. "Philosophical is when you follow a certain philosophy and everything is in place to follow it.

“But another thing is when you’re in trouble and you have to be pragmatic, creative and try to build something. That’s what we did against Liverpool."

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