Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville believes Jose Mourinho’s current squad at Old Trafford mirrors the title winning side he built at Chelsea during his first stint at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester United have made a terrific start to their season in the Premier League, winning six of their seven league games, scoring 21 goals and conceding just two in the process.
Currently level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League tree, Mourinho’s men are eyeing their first league title since 2013 and Neville feels that their style of football has evolved since last season.
The former Red has pointed out that Mourinho has allowed his team to play with more freedom and they have a striking resemblance to the Chelsea team that won their first league title in five decades under the Portuguese in 2005.
He believes Manchester United have a similar adventurous streak to that Chelsea side and it is clear Mourinho trusts his flair players more this term after building a good foundation at the club.
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Neville said on the Premier League TV’s Premier League Today programme: “I have seen a change in Manchester United this season.
“They have got a goalscorer up front in Romelu Lukaku, who is born and has been bred to score goals in the Premier League.
“They had that in Zlatan Ibrahimovic last season, but at the moment there are players around him who are chipping in with goals. [Marcus] Rashford, [Anthony] Martial, [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan and [Juan] Mata, who always seem to chip in with important goals.
“He has them playing with more adventure, they have got a solid foundation and now he has team that almost mirrors the one he had at Chelsea when he first came to England – [Arjen] Robben and [Damien] Duff wide, [Didier] Drogba up front, [Claude] Makelele, [Eidur] Gudjohnsen and [Frank] Lampard in midfield – they were an exciting team and not defensive at all”, the former Red added.
“He is happy with the squad as he has a good foundation and he is allowing the flair players to score goals as he realises goalscoring is part of Manchester United’s make-up and it’s also part of maybe winning the league.”
