Jose Mourinho shares his grand plan for beating Liverpool

Last year, when Chelsea went to Anfield, the mentality was definitely frustrate and counter. Not defend and counter, per se, but to frustrate Liverpool into shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly and eventually taking advantage. But now, times have changed. Chelsea are four points clear atop the table (six of Manchester City), and the Reds are struggling. Whether Jose Mourinho will change his tactics has been a major talking point in the press in the buildup to the rematch this Saturday, and the media finally asked him about it in the presser today.

And Mourinho very graciously revealed his grand plan to win the match:

Mourinho: "When Liverpool has ball, we try stop. When we have them, we try score. This is the ABC of football. People try to be too clever."

— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) November 7, 2014

It's a good answer to a stupid question. Flexibility and pragmatism have always been the two defining characteristics of Mourinho's teams, and 'defend well, attack well' are the two basic building blocks upon which football teams operate. It's a glib response, sure, but it's also more insightful than almost anything the press has to offer. There are no shortcuts.