Jose Mourinho would have thought of various strategies to stop Liverpool. One of the most likely top priorities for The Special One is the bus parking strategy.
Mourinho has recently begun to abandon a strategy that is so synonymous with him since officially taking charge of Tottenham Hotspur, 20 November 2019. The controversial figure approaches a different game at The Lilywhites.
Mourinho is not surprised to implement an offensive strategy to guarantee Tottenham’s three points. The choice of tactics was also supported by the presence of creative players such as Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, fast players like Song Heung-min, to goal-hungry strikers in Harry Kane up front.
With this row of players, Mourinho is more free to mix offensive strategies when playing in the English Premier League or other events. Mourinho can use the formation of 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2, or even 4-3-3 without problems.
The choice of tactics presents six wins, two draws and four defeats from 12 matches in all competitions.
Although the results achieved by Tottenham are quite good, it’s hard to see Mou insisting with the same approach against Liverpool. Although Tottenham will play in front of the public itself on the weekend.
The Portuguese manager must prioritize results rather than think of entertaining fans with an attractive game that would end in defeat.
Therefore, bus parking strategy is the most reasonable choice for Mourinho in the match later. With his most mastered strategy, the 56-year-old coach has a greater chance of surprising the Reds.
Mourinho deserves self-awareness ahead of the game counter the Reds. The reason is clear because the team facing later is the most feared team in Europe at the moment.
Liverpool is a complete team. Juergen Klopp’s squad is not only productive (49 goals) but also difficult to break into by opponents (only 14 goals conceded).
On the front lines, Liverpool have Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah, the most respected trio not only in England but also Europe. The back line of the port city team is also very tough because it is escorted by Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker.
Not to mention Liverpool have two offensive wing-backs, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson. Both of these players have deadly passes and are often the players who start the attack on the opponent’s defense.
With all these advantages, Liverpool can be very dangerous if Mourinho remains ‘desperate’ to play offensively. Moreover, Tottenham’s defense is classified as fragile this season.
Tottenham have conceded 30 goals in 21 league matches. On average Mourinho’s squad concede 1.4 goals per match.
The choice to stick around makes more sense because Tottenham will also not be strengthened by Harry Kane. Tottenham’s mainstay bomber will miss until April because of a hamstring injury.
Mourinho himself has long been attached to the term coach with a pragmatic approach. The former Real Madrid coach was not at all afraid of implementing an ultra defensive game even though he was often bombarded with criticism.
Mou’s defensive strategy is often very frustrating for any team. This was shown by Mou in the clubs he had coached.
Barcelona was frustrated by Mourinho when they coached Inter Milan and Real Madrid. The bus parking strategy at La Beneamata and aggressive games in Madrid were once very unpopular with the public.
If Mourinho can implement a perfect bus parking strategy it is not impossible that Liverpool’s first defeat in the Premier League this season was created at Tottenham’s headquarters.