They play their counterparts from the PL. They could easily lose a couple. They tonked Man City plenty when City won the PL. They would hammer most mid table teams in the PL.
This literally means nothing. They are completely different situations.
When United or City or Chelsea or Arsenal play another big team, they actually stand in the middle of the ring and have at it. They are out there to win via playing better football. Beating City coming at you is completely different than beating someone who is trying not to lose, rather than trying to win.
A team looking to defend first, even at the mid table level, is going to be harder to break down than a team that has quality that is trying to beat you by playing through you. Especially when they are playing like you, only they are not as good.
Think of it like modern warfare and the rising importance of asymmetric warfare. Who can actually fight a conventional war with the United States? Scant few nations. Those nations that tried, would lose badly, and rapidly unless there was some massive mitigating circumstance.
Now take a nation that knows it is nowhere near that level and so they don't try to "play" with the US, rather they go asymmetric and try to win by avoiding the strength of the US. What happens then?
That is what has happened to world football in a very real sense. It has become asymmetric. The global powers of football play in a specific way, teams under Mourinho not included, they play attacking football. They aim to win the match by playing football. Most teams that are not these global juggernauts can't beat these juggernauts if they play in that manner. So they don't. They play to avoid the strengths of these teams. Arsenal and BM play, they play similarly in that they both play positive attacking football. BM is stronger, BM is typically going to win this encounter because both teams are looking to play the same way, in a positive manner. Similar strengths, similar play styles, BM is stronger, BM is typically going to win this.
Now take a mid table club, they are not going to try to play with Arsenal or BM. They can't match their strength so they don't try. Instead they play defensively, and here is where the PL is largely different from Spain, Italy and Germany. This sort of asymmetric mentality is more developed and is supported by greater financial means and an emphasis on supporting these systems with superior athletes. There is a much greater emphasis in English football on physicality and athletic players than anywhere else. These players, who may not be as technically gifted, thrive in this defensive system. The mentality isn't to create chances, it is to exploit mistakes. They make the attacking team break them down, by being fast, strong, organized and then if a chance is presented, they are fast, strong, organized and they can rapidly transition into an attack and take a chance before falling back into a defensive shell.
An inferior team playing in this manner, is often more difficult to beat than a slightly inferior team that tries to meet your strength head on.
