Jose Mourinho has been hailed in all quarters for his tactical masterclass against Chelsea.
The Portuguese led Manchester United to a surprise 2-0 victory over the pacesetters on Easter Sunday, celebrating against his former club by pointing animatedly to the badge on his chest.
Chelsea were disappointing. Ander Herrera did a superb job of keeping Eden Hazard out of the game, while Diego Costa was evidently riled by Marcos Rojo.
N’Golo Kante put in a rare, underwhelming performance, and all the while, Conte watched on and changed very little.
The Italian did make one key move, but it has transpired that Mourinho second-guessed him brilliantly.
The Telegraph claim that speaking to his players at half-time, the United boss told them that should they score a second goal, Conte would respond by introducing Cesc Fabregas from the bench.
In turn, the Red Devils would take off Jesse Lingard and put on Michael Carrick. That’s exactly what they did after Herrera’s goal had doubled their lead, which had been given to the hosts by Marcus Rashford.
There was no more fitting a time for Mourinho to prove he still has an edge over his fellow managers than against Conte, his permanent replacement at Stamford Bridge.
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