Chapter 553: The Terrifying Myth of Mourinho's Second Year
"Oh my God! Mbappe! He just looked like he was riding a motorcycle! And when he met Van der Hoorn, it was like he suddenly hit the gas!" Lineker exclaimed.
Then, everyone saw Mbappe complete a brilliant breakthrough, rush into the box, and face the goalkeeper Fabianski. With a powerful shot, Fabianski managed to deflect the ball, but Rashford followed up with an easy tap-in to the empty net.
4-0!
Rashford was ecstatic as he hugged Mbappe. "Wow, Rashford has scored two easy goals today. Lady Luck is definitely on his side," the commentator shouted.
On the sidelines, Manchester United manager Mourinho was initially surprised, then clapped his hands joyfully, shaking his head in disbelief.
Rashford's brace extended United's lead to 4-0, but the scoring didn't stop there. Soon after, Rashford provided a through ball, and Mbappe cut into the box. Using a burst of speed, he outmaneuvered Swansea's left-back Olsson, finding himself one-on-one with Fabianski. Mbappe opted for a delicate chip over the advancing goalkeeper, and the ball floated into the net.
"5-0! Manchester United are five goals up! This match is over! A massacre! United are slaughtering Swansea 5-0 at home!" the commentator exclaimed.
As the commentator shouted in amazement, Mbappe sprinted away in celebration. With the team already leading 4-0, Mbappe was relaxed, allowing him to attempt the cheeky chip. And it worked perfectly.
While United celebrated, Swansea's players looked utterly dejected. They felt everything was against them, and they had no fight left.
Meanwhile, Old Trafford was in complete delirium.
After the match, Swansea manager Carvalhal admitted in the press conference, "Our luck was terrible today, almost like we were cursed. It's a frustrating loss."
Mourinho, showing admirable politeness and humility, refrained from criticizing his Portuguese compatriot. "I don't completely agree with Mr. Carvalhal because our players performed exceptionally well, but I must admit, we did have some luck with two of our goals. But that's the charm of football—you never know what will happen next."
Finally, Mourinho offered some consolation to Carvalhal and Swansea: "A 5-0 scoreline doesn't reflect the true capabilities of both teams. Swansea has been one of the best-performing teams in the Premier League recently, and the score doesn't tell the whole story."
Carvalhal was both surprised and touched by Mourinho's comments. What a great person, he thought. Winning 5-0 and still so humble. If it were him winning 5-0, he wouldn't have been this calm.
The journalists, especially those supporting Swansea, had a favorable impression of Mourinho. Despite United's dominant record against Swansea, with last season's 5-1 and 3-1 wins and this season's 5-0 thrashings, United played clean and fair. Mourinho's humility further softened their view of him and his team.
United's 5-0 victory over Swansea sent shockwaves through the UK and the world. This was United's 10th time this season scoring five or more goals in a Premier League match. These included five 5-0 wins, and other big scores like 5-2, 6-0, 6-2, 8-0, and 8-1.
Such prolific scoring brought United's total to an astonishing 105 goals, breaking Chelsea's 2009-2010 record of 103 goals in a single Premier League season.
Eight years ago, Ancelotti's Chelsea had become the first team to score over 100 goals in a Premier League season, winning the title with 86 points, narrowly beating United. Four years later, in the 2013-2014 season, Manchester City and Liverpool also broke the 100-goal mark, with City scoring 102 and Liverpool 101. City edged out Liverpool by two points to claim the title.
Now, United had become the fourth team to break 100 goals in a Premier League season. Among these teams, United had the highest point-per-goal ratio, with 89 points from 105 goals, equating to 0.848 points per goal, compared to Chelsea's 0.835, City's 0.843, and Liverpool's 0.832.
Moreover, United reached 100 goals in the fewest matches, achieving it in just 30 games. Last season, United came close, with 93 goals after 34 matches, but they fell short in the final rounds, ending with 96 goals for the season.
However, United was still far from the all-time English top-flight record for goals in a season. In the 1930-1931 season, Aston Villa scored 128 goals in 42 matches, the highest in Europe's top five leagues. Arsenal, with 127 goals, won the title that year.
United's current average of 3.387 goals per game could see them reach 128.71 goals by season's end, potentially breaking Villa's record. But this was unlikely, as teams' scoring typically declines towards the end of the season.
Indeed, United's scoring rate had already dropped. In the first half of the season, they scored 75 goals in 19 matches (3.947 goals per game). In the 12 games since, they had scored 30 goals (2.5 goals per game). This 5-0 win was United's first five-goal match since the start of 2018.
What truly shocked the world was United's unbeaten run. Since the Community Shield on August 6th, United had not lost a single competitive match.
In this time, United played 51 matches, including 31 Premier League games, 8 Champions League fixtures, 6 League Cup ties, 4 FA Cup matches, 1 UEFA Super Cup, and 1 Community Shield, achieving an astonishing record of 46 wins and 5 draws.
Counting from last season, United were unbeaten in 55 competitive matches. Their last defeat was on May 14, 2017, away to Tottenham in the penultimate league game, which was also Spurs' last match at White Hart Lane.
United's 55-match unbeaten streak in all competitions was the longest in the history of the top five European leagues, surpassing Juventus's 43-match run in the 2011-2012 season. Other notable streaks include Inter Milan's 40 matches in the 2004-2005 season, Real Madrid's 40 in the previous season, Inter's 39 in the 2005-2006 season, and PSG's 39 in the 2009-2010 season.
Clearly, United's current record was far ahead of the competition.
The world now eagerly awaited to see if United could set a new record by going unbeaten in all competitions for an entire season. Achieving this would require them to avoid defeat in their remaining 7 Premier League matches, 5 Champions League games, and 2 FA Cup fixtures—14 matches in total. If successful, United would claim the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Champions League titles, becoming true quadruple champions.
In football, there's a widely circulated myth: Mourinho's "Third Year Syndrome." This theory suggests that in his third year managing a team, Mourinho typically faces challenges that lead to his departure. This phenomenon has occurred multiple times in his career.
But alongside this myth is another: Mourinho's "Second Year Success." In his second year with a team, Mourinho consistently achieves outstanding results. This has been true at Porto, Chelsea (first stint), Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Chelsea (second stint). At Porto and Inter, he won league and Champions League titles in his second year. At Real Madrid, his team outperformed Guardiola's Barcelona, achieving 100 points and scoring 121 goals. In his second stint at Chelsea, he again won the Premier League.
Now, at United, Mourinho's second year could see him achieve even greater success.
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