Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho insisted Liverpool and not his side should be criticised after the goalless draw at Anfield.
United’s defensive tactics saw them have just 35 percent of possession, their lowest total in the Premier League since Opta started collecting data in 2003.
Nevertheless, despite managing just one shot on target and winning only one corner, Mourinho claimed Reds counterpart Jurgen Klopp should be the one under the spotlight.
“Last season United won here. Liverpool had 14 shots on target and United had one,’’ said the Portuguese.
“How many shots on target did Liverpool have on target today? Two [official statistics actually recorded three].
“Two shots on target with 65 percent of possession. You have to be critical of Liverpool. It is their problem, not our problem.
“I think it was a good performance. It was a difficult match for us and for them and I think we controlled the game tactically and emotionally and it is not easy to do both things here.
“The result I think is acceptable. We wanted more. For long periods in the game we thought that could be possible but we didn’t score and, if you don’t score, you don’t win. But I think it was very positive performance.
“We stopped them playing, but they also did very well from the defensive point of view.
“They played [Emre] Can and [Jordan] Henderson for some reason and they did that for 90 minutes, so they normally project more players in attack.
“They were very cautious. They kept always Can and Henderson in position. They had only one player behind the three more offensive players.
“I think it was their intention to try and control us, which they also did well.’’
Ryan Giggs has said Manchester United fans must accept Jose Mourinho’s defensive approach after they recorded their lowest possession statistics in a Premier League match since Opta records began.
United had just 35 percent possession in Monday’s 0-0 draw at Liverpool and Giggs, who spent his entire playing career under Sir Alex Ferguson, said while working as a Sky Sports pundit that the performance was not the style he had come to expect.
When fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher asked Giggs whether he would accept the tactics or be frustrated as a United fan, he said: “One hundred percent. That’s something we accept at the moment.
“You know, that’s the climate that we’re in. You see the games coming up — Fenerbahce, Chelsea, [Manchester] City. If you lose tonight the pressure is on, so you just don’t lose — but then you’ve got to go and win against Chelsea, you’ve got to win against Fenerbahce.”
Giggs, who spent the previous two campaigns working as Louis van Gaal’s assistant, added: “It’s baby steps. It’s about getting to the top but it all comes down to results.