Kevin de Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho pounced on two defensive lapses from Daley Blind to give Manchester City and Pep Guardiola the bragging rights over Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United.
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“The second half was more hard – they played powerfully and with long balls”.
The result prolonged City’s flawless start to the Premier League season and ended United’s 100 percent record.
“We didn’t have the aggression in the first half, but that doesn’t matter now”. “Some of the boys, they felt the dimension of the game. Some of the guys, they felt it”.
There was no sign of the bitterness that marked their meetings in Spanish football when in charge of Barcelona and Real Madrid, with Mourinho and Guardiola shaking hands and even sharing a hug before kickoff and at fulltime. But we have played well so far.
City’s fourth straight win to open the season was inspired by De Bruyne, a player deemed not good enough and discarded by Mourinho when both were at Chelsea.
Guardiola reacted by replacing Iheanacho for defensive midfielder Fernando, leaving City without an orthodox striker as the game became a frantic end-to-end encounter.
“As soon as you lose the ball it is hard, and especially with players like [Marcus] Rashford and [Anthony] Martial on the counter-attack”.
Bravo had played himself into trouble when he cut the ball back to his left in the penalty box, and suddenly faced a 50-50 ball with an onrushing Wayne Rooney.
And Iheanacho – in for the suspended Sergio Aguero – then doubled the advantage in the 36th, tapping in on the follow-up when De Bruyne’s shot struck a post.
Ibrahimovic’s reply settled United – and it sprang from an error from Bravo, who dropped Rooney’s free kick while being impeded by his own defender John Stones.
“They are much stronger in the air, but I think we coped well and we just missed the third goal in the second half”.
It was Guardiola’s eighth win in 17 meetings with Mourinho.
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But the 34-year-old was able to make the most of Claudio Bravo’s sloppy handling to score United’s only goal of the game. “These guys have heart”.
