Almost universally billed as a battle of aesthetics—in the red corner the achingly dull pragmatist, and in the other red corner the manic gegenpressing zealot—Manchester United's defeat of Liverpool adhered to predetermined tropes and prejudices to such an extent it felt as if it could have been scripted.
It was. By Jose Mourinho.
This was the type of polarising performance Mourinho has built his career on. Textbook stuff. At various intervals throughout the game even United's supporters seemed unsure whether they were witnessing a tactical master class or their team getting away with one.