Arguably, Manchester United had their best season in years under Jose Mourinho. However, United fail to obtain silverware for the season.
Manchester United’s last chance to earn a trophy lied in the FA Cup. Just like last season, Mourinho put all of his eggs in one basket, but it did not work out in United’s favor. United defeated Chelsea earlier in the season, but the Blues came prepared.
In the first half, Chelsea looked the dominant side. Furthermore, Chelsea dominated in possession, and United could not keep up with the opposition. Mourinho chose Ander Herrera to keep Eden Hazard under wraps, but the Belgian forward managed to escape, and it proved costly for Manchester United.
A ball came down through the United defense to find Hazard. Phil Jones was the defender left to handle the Belgian. However, Jones could not contain Hazard in the box and the English defender committed a foul in the box. Obviously, the referee called for a penalty kick. This would be the call that would decide the match.
Hazard stepped up to take the kick, and he calmly slotted the ball to the right of David de Gea. Chelsea dominated the match for the majority of the first half.
Also, Manchester United had few chances in the first half, but that changed in the second half.
In the second half, United looked a much stronger team. They generated more chances and posed a significant threat. In fact, Marcus Rashford sent a rocket towards Thibaut Courtois, and the goalkeeper could only parry it away. Besides Paul Pogba’s first half long distance effort, Rashford’s shot was United’s first real chance to score.
In the sixty-third minute, Manchester United had a great chance to pull even with the competition. The ball came in from the corner, and Alexis Sanchez netted the ball off of the rebound. However, the Chilean was offsides.
The eighty-second minute of the match saw Pogba attempt to direct a corner into the back of the net. Unfortunately, Pogba’s header went wide, and United’s chances to earn silverware went down the drain.
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Mourinho may have failed to secure any silverware for Manchester United, but the season is not a loss in its entirety. When Mourinho came to United, the Red Devils needed a lot of work. In only his second season with the club, United finished second. Louis van Gaal and David Moyes could not break the top four. Manchester United are going up, and Mourinho is the man for the job.