Mourinho worse than Moyes at United

Jose Mourinho has endured a mixed start to life at Man­chester United and his record after 10 Premier League games finds him worse off than David Moyes over the same period. United’s frustrating 0-0 draw against Burn­ley at Old Trafford on Saturday meant a return of 15 points from Mourinho’s initial run at the helm, leaving him behind a surprise front-runner in this category where United’s recent history is concerned.

Moyes’ brief United tenure was much maligned as faltering form brought about his downfall before the then-defending champions limped to a seventh-place finish in 2013-14.

The warning signs were there early on, as United lost to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City as part of three defeats in their first six Premier League outings under Moyes. But the Scot took charge of three wins from four unbeaten matches to return five wins, two draws and three defeats from 10.

This leaves a total of 17 points to outstrip Mourinho, whose 4-0 thrashing at former club Chelsea last weekend contributes to him having the worst goal difference over this timeframe of any of United’s past four managers.

Moyes’ 10-game record is comfortably above Louis van Gaal’s 13-point haul and even superior to the great Alex Ferguson, who won four, drew three and lost three late in 1986 as he set about building an Old Trafford dynasty – meaning Mourinho can at least hope his identical record with far stronger resources can be something of an omen.

Ferguson’s initial United defence was the meanest, conceding 11 goals in 10 games, one fewer than Mourinho.

Van Gaal’s Red Devils, alternating between a back four and three centre-back while deploying a wide range of personnel, shipped 14 goals – more than Mourinho or Moyes – but, perhaps surprisingly, given his eventual reputation for producing dour football with the 20-time English champions, the Dutchman over­saw 16 goals for.