Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has claimed that he expected Jurgen Klopp to take off one of the Liverpool midfielders and go more attacking in the second half.
Mourinho had set out his stall to frustrate Liverpool at Anfield and other than a Romelu Lukaku chance, Manchester United created little and were happy to take a point from Merseyside at the end of a 0-0 draw.
The Manchester United manager admits that he was keen to add one more midfielder in the second half to add more energy but a lack of options prevented him from doing so.
He also admitted that he was hoping that Klopp would take off one of his midfielders after the break and go more attacking, which would have created spaces for his Manchester United side.
And he feels in the second half the game became a tactical battle as both managers moved around the pieces to achieve their target.
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Mourinho told reporters after the game: “We came for three points but in the second half we felt it difficult to do that with the match and the dynamic it had.
“I was waiting for Jurgen to change to go more attacking but he kept the three strong midfield players all the time and he had control. I had only Herrera and Matic.
“When I brought on [Marcus] Rashford and [Jesse] Lingard, I expected him [Klopp] to change but he kept the three which means his midfield was stronger today. At times, I was waiting for my team to do something but I couldn’t do anything with no midfielder on the bench.
“It was a game of chess in the second half.”
Manchester United have maintained their seven-point lead with Liverpool in the Premier League table and remain unbeaten in the league this season.
