UK Edition
Stoke City 2 Manchester United 2: Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting spoils Jose Mourinho's perfect start
Jose Mourinho had claimed in midweek that he “doesn’t like the sea to be flat” as the Manchester United manager sought to dampen the premature title talk surrounding his team.
Well, there were plenty of waves on a turbulent, stormy evening here at the bet365 stadium, when Stoke City put a dent in United’s 100 per cent start to the season and, by the end, it was hard to know whether it had been feistier on the field or off it.
Mourinho had taken umbrage with Mark Hughes, his Stoke counterpart, for shoving him and reputedly telling him to “f--- off” when the Portuguese encroached on his rival’s technical area. Mourinho responded by snubbing the offer of a handshake before making a point of shaking the hands of every one of Hughes’s backroom staff.
The Portuguese seemed even less happy about being asked about the spat, walking out of a BBC interview when the matter was raised because he felt he was unfairly cast as the guilty party. He then aimed a cheap shot at Stoke by suggesting “one team wanted to win, another wanted to draw”, something he claimed was becoming “trendy” in the Premier League.
Hughes smirked when Mourinho’s assessment was put to him and took it as vindication that United’s cage had once again been rattled in these parts. “It has to be viewed as a negative result for him,” the Stoke manager said. “Sometimes managers of top six clubs don’t take negative results too kindly. Maybe he reacted in the wrong way. I pushed him because he was in my technical area. Maybe that is why he didn’t shake my hand. In fairness, I have my history with handshakes. Maybe it’s me.”
For all the needle between the managers, though, this was a classic English scrap played hard but fair with no one willing to give an inch. It was just the right side of aggressive and the crowd lapped it up. United fell behind, then led thanks to goals from that budding pairing of Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku, before being pegged back.
Maxim Choupo-Moting was their nemesis, the Cameroon forward – a free summer signing from Schalke - scoring twice, even if Jack Butland produced another of those performances that have to make you wonder why Gareth Southgate persists with Joe Hart in goal for England.
David De Gea was no less brilliant in United’s goal, it must be pointed out, even if the same could not be said of some of the defending in front of him. Phil Jones will not want to see either of Stoke’s goals back in a hurry and Matteo Darmian did not cover himself in glory for the first either. Indeed, the best defender on show was Stoke’s imperious Kurt Zouma, on loan from Chelsea. What a cheap but invaluable recruit he looks. “There’s no such thing as a free transfer my CEO tells me, you still have to pay their wages,” Hughes joked.
United’s record here in the league since Sir Alex Ferguson retired now reads LDLDD. Mourinho had predicted a battle and reacted by stiffening his midfield. Playmaker Juan Mata made way for Ander Herrera and Henrikh Mkhitaryan was pushed out of the No. 10 role to a position wide on the right.
Whether the change or Stoke were more responsible for disrupting the attacking fluidity United had showcased in their opening three matches is open to debate. Hughes had claimed United had “areas that are a little loose positionally” which his side would try to exploit, another thing Mourinho had taken unkindly to. But presumably by that, Hughes meant the left back area. If there is a weakness in this United team it is there – or at least it is accentuated when Darmian is deployed in the position. Had Darren Fletcher swept a ball out to Mame Biram Diouf on United’s right, there is every chance Antonio Valencia would have closed him down, or at least done enough to put off the Stoke player. Darmian, by contrast, was too slow, trundling along rather than putting everything in to get to Diouf. Jones was also at fault, as Rio Ferdinand pointed out, for failing to cover the front post but take nothing away from the cross, it was a beauty, and Choupo-Moting made no mistake with the finish.
United’s reaction, though, was swift. Mkhitaryan whipped in a corner that was headed on by Nemanja Matic at the front post. Paul Pogba, unmarked, had a simple header but seemed to get his bearings slightly wrong only to watch the ball bounce in off the back of Rashford’s head. Goals were shipped on both sides but that had little to do with either goalkeeper. Butland twice denied Rashford in the first half and then made an excellent save from his own player, Zouma, late on.
De Gea was similarly impressive. His instinctive reflex save to tip over Jese’s terrific volley from Erik Pieters’ left-wing cross was a show-stopper. It was just a shame he was rendered powerless from what followed at the resulting corner. Xherdan Shaqiri whipped in the cross, Jones got under the ball, slipped on his backside and Choupo-Moting could not believe his luck as he was left unchallenged to head home for his second. Mourinho will have been furious. United had worked hard to force themselves in front. Darmian had made some amends for his earlier fumbling when he nicked the ball off Joe Allen, darted forward and slipped the ball into Mkhitaryan’s path. Lukaku timed his run well, Pieters playing him on, and although Butland saved his first shot, the Belgian gobbled up the rebound.
Lukaku missed a golden chance to win it when he blazed Anthony Martial’s cross high over the bar from close range, by which point Mourinho and Hughes had already had their ding dong after the Stoke manager reacted unkindly to a foul. “I prefer not to answer the question because your question is a bad question,” Mourinho said afterwards. “Because it looks like is my fault, is my problem. And your question is not correct, I am sorry. I don’t speak about stupid things, I’m too old for that, talking about stupid things is for stupid people.”