Data: the impact of past performance on future results
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ill José Mourinho’s team perform better after last week’s win? The Reds earned victory against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday, but with the Manchester derby coming up on Sunday, would it have been better if the team had lost? It is a strange question, but the impact that the result of one match has on the next is regularly discussed by both pundits and managers. Often, they refer to the confidence boost that a win carries into the next match. It is also argued that a loss can invigorate the team to work harder in the following game – greater motivation to turn things around.