The Manchester Derby's Heavyweight Clash Offers Plenty of Hope for Jose Mourinho

The heavyweight managerial clash between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola saw a near-knockout punch thrown in the first half. Mourinho began by taking a wild swing with his team selection, bringing Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan into the fold, starters for the first time in the league under the new Manchester United boss.

It was a swing that left United unbalanced, and Guardiola's Manchester City fired a quick one-two combination in retaliation, which left the red side of Manchester reeling. The contest, so eagerly anticipated, so hyped around the world, was almost over before it had started.

"

A game of two halves.

Watch part of Jose Mourinho's post-match press conference. #MUFC #MUTVHD https://t.co/6ast0IbIhm

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 10, 2016"

But United under Mourinho are a different prospect than they have been in recent seasons, and with a combination of grit and quality, they dragged themselves back into contention with a Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal. Claudio Bravo flapped at a deep cross, and United's newest talisman controlled his finish beautifully.

Ibrahimovic should have taken advantage of Bravo's ironic distribution error moments to take the Red Devils into the break with the score tied.

A level score would clearly not have been an accurate reflection of the balance of play throughout the half, but the five-minute spell before the break saw the United faithful believe again. A deafening chant of "We Love United, We Do" rang out from the Stretford End.

Standing there, it was loud enough to drown out the traditional "Glory, Glory Man United" which blared over the P.A. So often in the Louis van Gaal era that song had felt ironic. There was little glory in sterile possession. But while United had risked embarrassment from their first-half start, there was plenty of glory in their fightback.

But of course, in spite of their resilience, the damage had been done. Lingard and Mkhitaryan proved an unsuccessful gamble.

Neither played well, but Lingard seemed to draw the most ire from supporters. While plenty of reds admire his work rate, and there is plenty of affection for him given his homegrown status, there is also a lot of frustration expressed when he makes mistakes.

During this game, he earned some of that frustration, failing to act as an outlet for pressure on a couple of occasions, at one point trying a flick that went so wrong it resulted in him punching the ball out of play.

Mkhitaryan will bring a lot to United as the season progresses, but his home debut was less than impressive. He looked a little nervous on the ball, often running into trouble, though he improved a little as the half ran on.

It was crucial that United's wide-forwards played well, too, given how much space City had to work in when they had the ball. As B/R's Manchester City correspondent Rob Pollard said before the game, "the two wide players play very wide and stretch defences, which then allows City's central players to overload and find space."

"Very wide" was right. Even when Raheem Sterling had the ball on the touchline, Nolito hugged his on the opposite flank.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Luke Shaw coped well with this for the most part and made a number of blocks and clearances in the early going, but eventually the overload worked. An individual error from Daley Blind allowed Kevin De Bruyne too much room, and the damage was done.

It was also important for Mourinho that the wide players played well given they were clearly his biggest selection gamble. Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata were all left out of the starting XI, players with enormous ability and, in Rashford's case in particular, a recent history of positively impacting a Manchester derby for his side.

It is interesting to consider how long Mourinho has been planning this lineup, and how much of his previous use of Mata on the right has been an obfuscation designed to get Guardiola to plan for a different threat. Whatever the origins of the gamble, it did not pay off.

Before the Ibrahimovic goal the metaphorical bout had been far more one sided than most excepted.

But at half-time, Mourinho showed his heavyweight bona fides.

With the wind in United's sails as the whistle went, Mourinho retreated to the red corner to plot his recovery. Bleeding but still on his feet, he reacted to his own mistake and plotted his counter-punching strategy.

He brought Lingard and Mkhitaryan off, added Ander Herrera and Rashford to the mix, and switch to a 4-3-3 with Wayne Rooney on the right. Herrera took up his spot behind Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini in the middle of the park. It worked brilliantly. United came flying back into the game, with Rashford in particular causing City's right flank all manner of problems.

Of course, there was not just one managerial heavyweight in action here, and Guardiola hit back. Taking off Kelechi Iheanacho to bring on Fernando, City's midfield reasserted some control, and Bacary Sagna was given more protection against Rashford.

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Enjoyed Mourinho putting mega pressure on Bravo by going man-to-man on City GKs. pic.twitter.com/6t931yH8h8

— Paul (@UtdRantcast) September 10, 2016"

Mourinho looked to take advantage of Bravo's shakiness by putting his team man-for-man against City's defenders on goal kicks, and it nearly worked. The Stretford End was convinced Rooney should have won a penalty following a Bravo challenge, but City weathered the storm.

Guardiola's team played Guardiola's way, and they never stopped creating counter-attacking opportunities even when United were on top. The notion that these were the best two teams in the country was easy to countenance when watching them going blow for blow.

Mourinho's last roll of the dice was to bring on Anthony Martial for Luke Shaw and switch to a 3-4-3. United were losing with around 10 minutes left when he did, and, of course, it is easy to be attacking when your team needs a win, but it was nonetheless a bold approach, a mile away from the stereotype of him as a coach who always prioritises defence.

For United fans, the loss is obviously painful, and in the long run may even prove costly depending on just how close this season's title race gets.

But while there was plenty of frustration on the Stretford End there was also pride. The Van Gaal era was dominated by stale, dull performances lacking intent. The David Moyes era was characterised by games like the 2-2 draw with Fulham at Old Trafford, where it was obvious that changes needed making and none were.

The first big game of the Mourinho era was characterised by a big, costly mistake in terms of the starting XI but was also characterised by a team fighting for each other—and fighting for their fans.

The supporters responded in kind. United players left the pitch to another chorus of "We Love United." It was impassioned and heartfelt, not borne of defiance after a defeat to their hated rivals, but of pride in their team's efforts. It was, at the very least, entertaining.

Mourinho will no doubt be pained that his gamble did not come off. It seems unlikely that the fact his respectable attempt at getting back into the game almost worked will act as much of a salve on the wounds of the defeat.

But for United's fans, though losing the derby hurts, there can be plenty of consolation from the manner of the Red Devils' fightback, and the impact of Mourinho's presence on the game.

There is a long way to go in the season, of course, and first blood has gone to Guardiola. But, metaphorically speaking, Mourinho ensured City's victory was earned on points rather than by knockout. United are still on their feet and look set to put up a decent fight as the season progresses.

Quotations obtained firsthand.