Mourinho vs Van Gaal: Is the Special One an upgrade for Manchester United?

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The former Chelsea boss is set to take charge at Manchester United.

Picture Supplied by Action Images

After two years in charge, Louis van Gaal’s reign as Manchester United manager officially came to an end on Monday afternoon.

His spell at Old Trafford has largely been deemed a disappointing one, despite their FA Cup triumph last weekend.

Over the last two years, the United fan base grew quickly disillusioned with the style of football his side offered.

His replacement will be Jose Mourinho, as the Old Trafford hierarchy thrashes out a deal to bring the Portuguese boss to the club.

Jose Mourinho had a miserable start to the campaign at Chelsea

He didn’t have the best of seasons himself though, with Chelsea offering up the worst title defence in a number of years in a campaign that saw him sacked before 2016.

So does Mourinho represent a serious upgrade on his former boss? We decided to take a look at how the two compared over the last two seasons.

And it transpires that Jose Mourinho came out on top in six of the eight areas that we looked at.

In fewer games, his side managed to pick up more points per game, score more goals per game, and register more total scoring attempts per game than Van Gaal’s side.

He also enjoyed a better win percentage overall, managing a 55% success in his 54 games. Van Gaal managed a total of 51% in his 76 games.

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho leaves his house in London

Mourinho’s side also enjoyed fewer losses and fewer draws in that time, although United picked up nine more wins than Mourinho’s Chelsea and conceded fewer goals per game also.

Of course, the results are tempered by the fact Van Gaal managed 22 more games than his former understudy, but the attacking stats will be of particular interest to Manchester United fans nonetheless.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho gestures to Porto fans as they chant his name