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Mourinho continued to suggest that there was a double standard in play ahead of Thursday’s game, insisting that other managers are treated better than him.
“What I can say is that when I didn’t behave well, I paid the price,” Mourinho said. “And I paid the price in two ways: one was to see the games on TV in the locker room and the other was very expensive. Fines and I think for some of the other guys it didn’t happen. The same thing does not happen The same thing does not happen with them.
“But, if the referee and the fourth official are there to do this job, I just hope they will and act as they should.”
Mourinho is no stranger to courting controversy, but he said that at 58 he has now mellowed somewhat from his more fiery days at Port, Chelsea and real Madrid.
“In my case, I felt an evolution,” said the Portuguese. “I felt a shift in emotional control. I felt a shift in the more calm I am, the better I can read the game.
“And I’m even happy that my assistants sometimes turn to the sidelines to communicate and I stay in a privileged position.
“And I felt like I had to change my behavior, which I’m really, really happy about. This is my personal case. I can’t speak for other guys.”
Speaking of Thursday’s game, Mourinho admitted that Liverpool, who are now winless in five league games, have been hit hard by Virgil van Dijk’s severe knee injury.
“They have lost a fundamental player, we can say whatever we want, we can try to hide things, but some players are special and they are impossible to replace, so even sometimes the defensive process has to do with the loss of an attacking player, “Mourinho added. .
“A very stable team defensively is a team with much better attacking conditions and vice versa. They lost Van Dijk. It is very, very important to them. “