Of course, Richard was deadly serious about this. In fact, he pushed hard for Mourinho to join Manchester City as O'Neill's assistant coach. However, not everything would happen immediately—it would take time.
After the League Cup, the focus returned to the Premier League. Newcastle United's title hopes took an unexpected blow when they lost 1–0 at home to Southampton.
What made Richard happiest, however, was that at the same time, Wimbledon pulled off their second surprise win of the month—Vinnie Jones scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Arsenal at Highbury.
Meanwhile, Liverpool also suffered a shock 3–2 home defeat to Derby County—an upset that Manchester City capitalized on brilliantly. City's win over Everton allowed them to draw level on points with Liverpool in the standings.
The current table:
1. Manchester United – 73 points
2. Newcastle United – 67 points
3. Liverpool – 63 points
4. Manchester City – 63 points
5. Arsenal – 55 points
6. Chelsea – 54 points