Thursday night's derby between Manchester City and Manchester United has turned out to be an absolutely massive game for both teams.The two rivals are in a battle to finish in the Premier League top four, and there's every chance that one of the Manchester clubs will miss out.The last time Man United played one of their big league rivals was the 2-0 win over Chelsea, in which Mourinho tasked Ander Herrera with a man-marking job of Eden Hazard.
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Not only did the Spanish midfielder carry out the Man Utd manager's instructions to a tee, but he also produced a goal and assist to reignite their top four hopes.
Tonight's clash at the Etihad Stadium is just as big a match, and the "Special One", known for his tactical masterclasses in key away games, sprung another surprise with the way he set up his players.
Mourinho springs tactical surprise
When United's starting XI was announced, everyone thought that Mourinho had opted for a midfield three of Herrera, Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini, with a front three of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
However, that wasn't the case. The EFL Cup winners actually started the game with Rashford and Martial in more wider areas as split strikers, leaving summer signing Mkhitaryan as the most potent central attacking threat.
The thinking behind this was probably to get at Man City's full-backs, Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov, and expose their lack of speed in one-on-one situations.
Both of those players are well into their thirties, and given City's early dominance of possession, Mourinho potentially felt that singling out the opposition full-backs and overpowering them with pace on the counter-attack was the best tactic.
After about ten or 15 minutes, the 54-year-old Portuguese coach reverted to a more convential system with Mkhitaryan on the right, Martial on the left, and Rashford in a more familiar central role, making runs in behind Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi.
That said, some fans noticed the tactics Mourinho deployed at the start of the vital derby and reacted to the decision on Twitter:
What did YOU make of Mourinho's tactical surprise? Who do YOU think will join Chelsea and Tottenham in the Premier League top four this season? Have YOUR say in the comments box below!