The first mega showdown between the two English premier league heavyweights ended with an interesting result when visiting Manchester City defeated Manchester United with a 2-1 margin last night.
It was rather a major setback for United boss José Mourinho who could not justify his mega million investment over players in just concluded transfer window, in fact, City was in control right from the first moment of the game and they kept their dominance for forty long minutes and scored two goals powered by beautifully strikes from Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho until Wayne Rooney’s free kick was pounced by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and scored only goal for the Red Devils. City boss Pep Guardiola seems to have been highly impressed with the performance of his side especially that of goalie Claudio Bravo, who brilliantly stopped several United shots to keep their lead secure in the second half when hosts were firing.
Like always, United boss Jose Mourinho feels his side should have been rewarded two penalties in the second half: once when Rooney cross struck Nicolas Otamendi on the elbow and second when Bravo’s tackle on Rooney after he overran the ball and reacting to his claim Guardiola refuses to have seen any of those. Anyways, talking about the game and how his team delivered the first brilliant show of the season in an away game, 45-year-old Frenchman said, “What Claudio did was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. I like goalkeepers to play in front and after that goal, he continued playing in our build-up, playing long balls and coming out to pick it up.
“In football, it’s about how you react to mistakes — it shows character. He continued playing. It means a lot. The way we train and the way we play has given me a lot of confidence. We played good in the first half because of Claudio. I like the keepers to attack the ball and after what happened, in the second half he continued to play and that’s a good thing about his personality. He was one of the reasons we played well in the first half.
“Yeah it can be too risky; if you lose the ball they will score but you can control the game. Until my last day in England I will try to play with the ball as much as possible. I know it’s impossible for 90 minutes but I’m sorry, I will not negotiate that.”