World Football's Monday Morning Hangover: Respect Given, Not Earned

Welcome to world football's Monday Morning Hangover, an homage to the NFL section's own Monday Morning Hangover, where we round up the key stories and important points from the last weekend in world football.

With an inevitable focus on the Premier League, let's get started.

Respect Sees Mourinho Struggle to Stick the Dagger In

Jose Mourinho is a pragmatic coach, a generally reactive one—an approach that undoubtedly comes in part from his natural tendencies. It's also something he learned from his mentor during his early years in coaching, Louis van Gaal.

On Sunday, both managers—who worked together for a number of years at Barcelona in the 1990s—cancelled each other out with that tried-and-trusted approach, as Mourinho's Chelsea and Van Gaal's Manchester United fought to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

Van Gaal's decision to focus on the defensive—throwing Marouane Fellaini into the fray primarily to frustrate Cesc Fabregas, with Robin van Persie almost isolated in attack—from the off was defensible, considering the start to the season Chelsea have made and the quality of attacking players they have at their disposal.

Few people were surprised that Mourinho adopted a similar strategy—Oscar, Willian and Eden Hazard pressing high up the pitch—as that has come to be his preferred style in any away game against a strong opponent over the course of his career.

Few people were surprised when Mourinho then battened down the hatches after taking a second-half lead; John Obi Mikel adding another body in the middle of the park, as Oscar's influence higher up the pitch was sacrificed.

That strategy did not pay off, however, as Van Persie scored deep into injury time to steal a point for the home side. Mourinho blamed the referee in the aftermath—Branislav Ivanovic had been sent off seconds before United equalised—but that seemed to be at least in part a deflection from the fact that his chosen approach did not have the desired result.

Afterward, Mourinho said, per Jamie Jackson of The Guardian:

"

I prefer just to say my feeling is we had a good first half and a fantastic second half. You know I cannot speak. Some [managers] can and some don’t and one of the ones who cannot speak is me because you know what happens to me when I do.

I prefer not to speak about the second yellow card because if I do I have to start in the first half and go through many, many things that happened in the game. The penalty [not given] on Ivanovic, the accumulation of cards, the fouls he didn’t give to us, the throw-ins right in front of me and the fourth official and the linesman that he gave in the other direction.

Of course I prefer to be in front. We are four points in front so I can say next weekend it doesn’t matter what the results, we will be on top of the league. We have a little space for our mistakes, or the referee’s mistakes.

"

It was interesting that, in contrast, Van Gaal was still left wanting more after the game, despite his side's late escape. He intimated, not unreasonably, that the only reason Chelsea had led in the first place was because of a mix-up that left the diminutive Rafael marking Didier Drogba from a corner.

He told reporters:

"

It was not our best performance and that is a pity because at this moment you have to show yourself against the better teams but in spite of that we have created a lot of chances—much more than Chelsea. They have created one chance in the first half and before the goal there was the [Eden] Hazard chance which David de Gea stopped fantastically.

The corner kick [for Drogba’s goal] was a lack of communication and that is why they scored. That is always the difference in such games.

"

The draw was not a bad result for either side; indeed it was a good one for the league as a whole considering Manchester City's defeat a day earlier. But you wonder if Chelsea could have won this game more easily if they had been more assertive from the off, if Mourinho had not shown his old mentor so much respect.

Van Gaal is undoubtedly a great coach, but it remains early in his United reign and the team have multiple issues that other, lesser sides, have already exposed this term.

Considering this was only the second competitive meeting between the two men, and United are likely to be rivals to Chelsea again given time, you wonder if Mourinho's personal relationship with the man prevented him from attempting to make a statement of intent in the same way he has previously tried to do with Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger.

You wonder if personal feelings clouded his judgement slightly and allowed a winnable game to slip away.

It should not affect the title race—over the 90 minutes, it should not be ignored how good Chelsea looked at both ends of the pitch—but it is perhaps an interesting note to consider.

Ian Walton/Getty Images

Hammers Make a Real Statement of Intent

The most surprising result of the weekend was also the first, as West Ham beat Manchester City 2-1 at Upton Park. The visitors pushed on determinedly in the second half, but it was a deserved win for Sam Allardyce's side—the manager must have taken a huge amount of pleasure from the result.

It has been said before, but West Ham were a completely different side from last season, where they famously lost to the same opposition 9-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup. With new boys Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho upfront, they gave Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala a torrid time, and both played roles in both goals.

Afterward, Allardyce told reporters (via The Independent):

"

Maybe there should have been a bit more protection for [the defence] from the other players—we could expose that.

We all know that Manchester City play a certain way. They come away from home expecting to win and go and attack you. We’ve seen a lot this season those spaces they leave can be exploited by other teams. We exploited those brilliantly.

"

Defensively the Hammers remain robust, if lacking in a certain nuance—as Allardyce sides usually do—but going forward they have the sort of pace, physicality and eye for goal to trouble any side.

Currently inside the top four, why can't Hammers fans think about a sustained challenge for the European positions (the Europa League being more realistic, perhaps)? If they can keep Valencia and Sakho fit, they will be a danger for many, many teams.

City, in contrast, looked sluggish in the early exchanges, perhaps a result of having to trek to Russia for a Champions League in midweek. But that cannot really be used as an excuse for a squad that should be used to such pressures by now—they simply must get better, more focused and more efficient, in games such as these when the opposition are well up for the fight and that intensity needs to be matched.

With the European campaign not going so well, Manuel Pellegrini needs to ensure his side remain well in the title race before speculation starts to mount about his own job security. At the moment, they are already withering.

Goal of the Weekend

Eurosport.com's Alphan Dogualp provided a look at the Manuel Fernandes goal:

Lovely, measured stuff from Manuel Fernandes of Lokomotiv Moscow.

Goal of the Weekend: Runner-Up Edition

Troll Football shared the runner-up goal:

"

GOLAZO!! 91st minute equaliser from 35 yards in the derby. https://t.co/smnoFV1Gs3

— Troll Football (@Troll__Football) October 26, 2014"

Random Asides 

• Surely retrospective action will be coming for West Brom defender Craig Dawson, after his violent elbow into the side of Crystal Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni's head. Victor Anichebe scored a goal in the process—only increasing the pain for Palace and Speroni, who had to be substituted in the aftermath.

• Credit where it is due for Alan Pardew, as his Newcastle team came from behind to steal victory over Tottenham. Substitutes Sammy Ameobi and Remy Cabella played a key role in the turnaround—looks like those calls for his job can be put to bed for at least a few weeks now...

• Another game, another goalless performance for Mario Balotelli. The Italian showed plenty of intent and determination against Hull—Brendan Rodgers suggested after the game that the striker had been pleasantly surprised to find he was playing—but just did not get a break. It feels like the forward, as with his club, just needs a lucky break to start getting things back on the right track again.

• Another week, another comfortable defeat for Burnley. Sean Dyche spoke persuasively with Sky Sports in the build-up about all the improvements being made to the infrastructure at the club, but one wonders if he will be kept around to see that all through—first-team results are the be-all and end-all, and at the moment, the Clarets look well off the ball. Dyche has done a great job, but that might not save him when the board consider if a new man could keep them up.

• The troubles continued for Sunderland, as two heinous individual errors from Wes Brown and ex-Gunner Vito Mannone saw Arsenal claim a 2-0 win on Saturday. Both were the result of a lack of composure under pressure—Gus Poyet must be pulling his hair out at such schoolboy mistakes.

• Two goals at the weekend for Samuel Eto'o, at 33 (officially)—like Luis Figo, he's still got it.

• Ronald Koeman made one change from an 8-0 winning team on Saturday, and it was new face Sadio Mane who grabbed the winner as Southampton edged to a 1-0 win over Stoke. When you've got the Midas Touch...

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Good Week, Bad Week

Good Week

Alan Pardew: Two effective substitutions and a smash-and-grab win

Robin van Persie: Back among the goals in gratifying fashion

Garry Monk: Swansea's attractive football continues to pay off.

Alexis Sanchez: Two gifted goals—Christmas came early for the Chilean

Bad Week

Eric Dier: A game he will want to forget after a number of big errors

Neil Warnock: How about less moaning about the referee, more focus on the coaching?

Ander Herrera: Not involved against Chelsea, it seems he has to earn Van Gaal's trust back

Vincent Kompany: Bullied by Enner Valencia all afternoon at Upton Park

Tottenham's Wasted Year

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Spurs' defeat to Newcastle on Sunday means they remain on just 11 points after nine games and 11th in the table. For comparison, last season at the same point Andre Villas-Boas' side had accumulated 19 points —a month later, he was sacked.

The decision was controversial at the time (although they had been battered by both Manchester City and Liverpool in quick succession) but, 12 months on, it looks all the more suspect. Have Spurs improved in any way? Tim Sherwood's temporary reign was a case of treading water, and now Mauricio Pochettino has come in, with his new methods and preferences causing more turmoil than many hoped would be the case.

Maybe the Argentine will turn it around in due course (and, it should be noted, that the overall quality of the Premier League appears to be higher this year than 12 months ago). But if he does not, or cannot, then it is another wasted year for Spurs—who have had a few of them in recent times.

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

Monday Night Football

Is that the sound of a P45 being typed up? That is certainly the speculation, as Harry Redknapp enters a crucial period in his QPR reign.

The west London club currently sit at the bottom of the Premier League table on goal difference, while the club's next two games come against Manchester City and Chelsea. With that in mind, it would appear imperative that QPR get a result against Aston Villa on Monday to avoid being cut adrift slightly at the bottom.

If QPR do lose, it will be interesting to see how club owner Tony Fernandes reacts—will he replace Redknapp straight away, or will he wait until after those two games against big sides and give the new man a better chance of getting off to a winning start? Redknapp will not want to find out, knowing a victory should preserve his position for at least a little longer.

Aston Villa have started to slide down the table after a bright start to the campaign—currently 15th, Paul Lambert will surely see this game as a glorious opportunity to start rebuilding some positive momentum.

Prediction: QPR 1-1 Aston Villa