A lot has been said about Manchester United’s performance against Juventus, most of it in England, as Italy have spent most of their time praising Max Allegri’s men. As they should.
There have been some criticisms about José Mourinho, mostly about how he appears to be heading down a lethal spiral of self destruction, but his tactics, clear for everyone to see, were just shrugged off as normal for the Red Devils these days.
However, Marcello Lippi, who won a World Cup with Italy in 2006, isn’t like everyone else, and when he was interviewed by Corriere dello Sport, the former Italy national team manager questioned the Special One’s approach in Tuesday night’s game.
He said: “I was surprised, negatively, at Manchester United’s lack of playing football. United cannot stay there and watch the other team for an hour, even if it is against a super Juventus side.
“I’m not interested in Mourinho, or certain gestures. I share his prestigious compliment for Bonucci and Chiellini, but I repeat: a team with their technical ability stayed ‘closed’, like they did for a long time against Chelsea.”
These criticisms have been echoed many times by Manchester United fans over the past few years, with many feeling the Portuguese manager is wasting the attacking talent at his disposal with his defensive approach to games.
There have been glimpses of what can happen when they do decide to attack, but they have been too few and far between.
Next up for United: Everton at home.
