Intriguing Statistic Suggests Jose Mourinho Was Right to 'Set Up Defensively' Against Sevilla

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho caught a lot of flack for his team selection and resulting performance against Sevilla on Wednesday in the Champions League, but an interesting statistic can certainly go some way in justifying his means.

The Red Devils came away with a 0-0 draw, and a number of fans were unhappy with the seeming lack of ambition on show - the Portuguese bearing the brunt for 'not even trying' to score an away goal.

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But as posted by user jjkenneth on Reddit, Mourinho has overseen 13 draws away from home in European competitions at the knockout stages (with Porto, Chelsea twice, Real Madrid and Manchester United), and has actually progressed through 10 times - an impressive 77% tie win rate.

It is a suggestion that Mourinho places far more emphasis on getting the job done in front of a home crowd, making sure that his sides do not lose the away leg. It is a risky strategy, but one that has evidently worked well for the 55-year-old down the years.

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It is hard to argue with his progression success rate, as negative as the tactics and brand of football was, and United will head into the game at Old Trafford as the favourites - since Mourinho took over in May 2016 he has lost just twice there; to Manchester City on both occasions.

Sevilla could easily have won the game on Wednesday, but for some incredible goalkeeping by David De Gea, but are not as strong as they have been in previous seasons and could well struggle against a completely different team and set of tactics in two weeks' time.