Pep Guardiola has stressed his Manchester City side are not yet in the kind of shape that will be required for them to make waves in the Champions League.
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Manchester United are now preparing for their Europa League trip to Feyenoord on Thursday night before they travel to Watford next weekend in the Premier League.
As well as being without suspended striker Sergio Aguero, they were also minus skipper Kompany and summer signing Gundogan, neither of whom have featured so far this term while they work their way to fitness.
Pogba wrote: “The season is just starting, we don’t lose, we learn”.
Arsenal were lucky to escape with three points from a home clash with Southampton as Santi Cazorla held his nerve to score a 94th-minute penalty in a 2-1 win, while a breathless attacking display from Liverpool helped them to a 4-1 victory over champions Leicester City.
Both defender Kompany and midfielder Gundogan are close to being ready for action.
“It was hard, especially in the second half, because they were much stronger physically and in the air but I think we coped well and we had the chances to get the third in the second half”. I think a little bit defensively more than anything.
‘I trust him completely.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic reduced the deficit just before the break during a breathless first half after City’s new goalkeeper Claudio Bravo dropped a high cross at the Swede’s feet, one of several errors during an unconvincing debut.
But he also emphasised that with them not making the most of some openings, City had to “suffer” through a second half in which Jose Mourinho’s United, invigorated by some half-time substitutions, were considerably improved.
Since Mourinho succeeded Louis van Gaal, the only complaint from United fans to have gained any traction is centred on the Portuguese’s unwillingness to give Marcus Rashford a more prominent role.
“His personality showed me a lot today”, Guardiola said.
“We know his quality and what he’s able to do”. We create, but in front we need more. But we need to keep doing that because, if one or two switch off, it gets really hard.
“Let’s say our team didn’t play well in the first-half and their responsibilities are my responsibilities”.
I think in the first half we deserved to be losing and in the second half we don’t deserve to be losing.
It is likely that the Red Devils believe Ibrahimovic will still be able to maintain his current impressive form into his late 30s, hence why they are considering adding another year to his deal.
Much of the pre-match focus had been on the stormy history of the relationship between Guardiola and Mourinho.
However, when Guardiola was asked about that in his post-match press conference, it seemed such a meeting was not on the cards. What the world is seeing now, we already know because we see it every day.
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“We are very happy that he is here with us”.
