Why Jose has been than Pep this season

Written at the end of April

Arguably, two of the greatest managers of their generation. Both have conquered where ever they have gone.

"One of the greatest managerial rivalries of all time."

Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho both arrived in Manchester expected to do well. While, they have not made their teams title-contenders yet, they have certainly improved their teams. Both City and United are projected to have more points than they did.

While Guardiola is a place and a point ahead of Mourinho, I believe the Portuguese (Mourinho) has outperformed his Spanish foe.

Let's start with the expectations. Pep was expected to win the title with what was considered to be the 'best squad' in the league.

On the other hand, Jose was expected to rebuild United and Take them to the Champions League and improve the 'boring' style of play.

Guardiola has clearly failed with his expectations as City can realistically aim to finish third in the league. City will finish the season trophyless and they have been knocked out from all cup competitions.

On the other hand, As of now, Jose is in fifth place with Manchester United but if they can win their game in hand over Liverpool, the red devils can make 4th place. United can also make the champions league by winning the Europa League which they can favorites for as they are already through to the semis. While Jose might not have done very well in the league, he will end the season with at least one major trophy: The League Cup.

Finally, let's look at the Team Management and the progress both managers have made.

Jose has improved United's team with the likes of Pogba. He has found a stable team with a healthy rotation policy. However the most improvement has been in the style of play as United have created the most chances this season and have often been unlucky to just get draws from games. Right Now, They are on a 24 match league unbeaten streak which is the most in Europe (right now) showing their consistency. He has certainly changed United from being a 'Boring Team'.

On the other hand, Under Pep, the Attack has been Great with youngsters like Sterling, Sane and Gabriel Jesus coming through while Aguero enjoying another prolific season. However Attack was never the Problem under Pellegrini either. Unlike his predecessor, Guardiola is consistently changing his formations from three at the back to four at the back and his backline has been woeful. In his first team defenders, 3 out of the 4 players are above the age of 30 and in the entire squad, there is just one viable defender below the age of 25 and that is the mistake-prone John Stones. The Spanish manager also loaned out Joe Hart to Torino and bought in Claudio Bravo who's hardly saved a shot since Arriving. The 33-year old Chilean has been so woeful, That Willy Caballero has been called up for 12 league cups. Certainly Joe Hart couldn't have done worse.

At City, Pep's position changes have seemed less Tactical and more Random, Bizarre. Fernandinho at CB, Zabaleta at CDM, Navas at RB to name a few.

Guardiola will end the season trophyless unlike his predecessor Pellegrini who won the league cup last year. To add insult to Injury , Pep's City was beaten by Jose's United who were eventual winners.

While neither manager has done very well or very bad, Jose has outperformed Pep this season.