Jose Mourinho has defended criticism of his pragmatic approach in the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool, having chosen a strategy which meant Spurs only had 33.2 per cent of possession against a team they had battled in the Champions League final just a few months ago.

Just because a team loses does not mean the match tactics were wrong and on Saturday, Mourinho's unappreciated approach so nearly worked. Considering the circumstances and ridiculous standard of opposition, it might be more accurate to suggest his set up worked a lot better than some have considered.

The gameplan

Mourinho's best teams have always been organised, awkward to play against and tough to break down. Jurgen Klopp's side are a highly drilled, incredibly structured monster who leave nothing to chance, but Mourinho ensures his side are defensively strong so that forwards can improvise - Klopp controls everything, Mourino revels in a certain level of random chaos further up the pitch.

“We tried to create something," said Mourinho after the game. "Even the game plan, not just the way we started the game but the overall game plan, we tried to be in conditions to win. If I start the game the same way we played the last 25 minutes, we couldn’t [maintain it]. Lamela couldn’t play 90 minutes that way, Giovani [Lo Celso] didn’t have the intensity to play that game for 90 minutes."