It would be too much to call Manchester United’s victory against Liverpool on Saturday a tactical masterclass, but José Mourinho’s plan of sitting deep, playing direct and bypassing Liverpool’s press has proven to be a very effective strategy against them.

Therefore, applying a low block, crowding the central areas and defending in a passive manner by not putting too much pressure on the ball player was a tactically appropriate strategy.

Of course. This comes at a cost in terms of the quality of football your side can play as you are conceding your attacking impetus, but with United taking all 3 points against their fierce rivals, the style of play, even at Old Trafford, is probably something the fans can swallow as a one-off. The ends justifies the means.

However. It is one thing playing passively at home against an aggressive Liverpool side happy to concede space behind them, and a completely different thing to play in the same manner, at home, against a relatively average Sevilla side. Especially one with such clear defensive frailties.

Sevilla went into the match 5th in La Liga, 11 points behind 4th position. To put that into context, they are closer in points terms to Espanyol in 13th, than they are to the Champions League positions. They have a goal difference of -6 and have conceded 4 goals or over on 6 different occasions this season. Whilst they evidently have quality, particularly in midfield with their playmaker Ever Banega, that kind of record is the sign of a team suffering from a host of defensive issues.

Given this, and the context of the match requiring Utd to win to go through in 90 minutes, we could expect José Mourinho’s side to be much more aggressive in their defensive intent than at the weekend. Apply more pressure higher up the pitch and look to control the ball and midfield in order to exploit the systemic deficiencies in Sevilla’s back line.

What we witnessed, however, was the exact opposite. A staggeringly negative approach which allowed the away side to dominate for almost the entirety of the game and ultimately led to Utd being knocked out of the Champions League.

We know that Mourinho likes to utilise this particular tactic; allowing teams to come onto them in order to draw their lines forward and then attack the spaces they leave behind. His first Chelsea side were masters of this. Using Drogba to hold the ball up and quick, powerful midfielders to support the fast transitions. It is a tactic he likes to use against all types, from the high defensive lines of Tottenham and Man City, to the more perennial bus parkers in the league such as West Brom or Stoke. It may not be the most aesthetically pleasing way to play football, but, equally, there can be no arguments against the success it has brought to the Portuguese manager. This includes his current side, who, despite under-performing in the league last year, still managed to pick up two trophies with victories in the League Cup and the Europa League. It’s ugly, but it’s effective.

Still. The extent to which the home side vacated and conceded the midfield area on Tuesday night was alarming and tactically bewildering. It’s fine to draw teams onto you, but you still need to compete for the ball in the important zones of the pitch. Specifically, in the central areas in front of your goal. Over the course of the entire game, Jose’s men attempted 33 tackles, yet zero – literally, not a single tackle – were completed in the midfield central zones.

They also completed zero fouls in these zones. They fared marginally better in interceptions, racking up an impressive sum of… 1.

Compare and contrast this to Sevilla’s defensive output in the same areas and you can see the vast difference in approach that both managers took.

Ultimately, this seemingly unnecessary choice to be so passive in their defensive actions is the reason United have been knocked out of the Champions League. Against a side they should comfortably be dispatching given the differences in expenditure and quality. Manchester United have an array of talent in their attacking areas, but Mourinho’s insistence on pushing his midfield and defensive lines so far back against teams he really has no cause to, is isolating them. Players like Martial, Rashford, Sanchez are not being given the right tactical framework to thrive and we can see that in their performances and their offensive stats. Consequently, United are becoming renowned for their low output, low quality attacking performances, the antithesis of their reputation during their former glory years.

Despite this disastrous loss, it is perhaps still unfair to criticise Mourinho. His side is second in the league, behind only their city rivals who are on course for a record smashing points total. He is coming off the back of a reasonably successful first season that resulted in two forms of silverware. But is this enough for United fans? Is the cost of watching this style of passive negative football worth the (so far) mediocre success he has brought? Should spending the vast fortunes United have paid out result in a more expansive and exciting form of football?

We can also compare the support of managers from fans from other football clubs. Both Tottenham and Liverpool have struggled to win trophies in recent times, yet their fans are much happier with their incumbent managers because the ideology of their football is much more attacking and visually appealing. Both of these clubs like to play on the front foot and impose their game on the opposition. This also applies to clubs lower down in the pecking order such as West Ham, Everton and Newcastle. These fans demand a certain approach from their managers. Supporters of these teams took an immediate disliking to Sam Allardyce, who strayed away from their perceived brand, even if objectively he could have been said to have improved the clubs fortunes.

We know that the style of football is part of the DNA of certain football clubs, and the offerings of Jose and his current United side is certainly a far stretch from the attacking, flowing football they saw under Ferguson. The only way Mourinho can justify this brand of football is to win major trophies. And win them regularly.

The connection between Mourinho and the fans is already fractious, and there’s no doubt that limping out in such meek fashion against a relatively average Sevilla has dealt a severe blow to that relationship.