The goalkeeper was not only at fault for the goal, making an very bad error in coming for a ball that he never claimed, allowing Ibrahimovic to pull a goal back for United, but was also lucky to stay on the field, making a reckless lunge on Wayne Rooney when he tried to do too much in his own area and mis-controlled the ball, allowing the England captain an opportunity to pounce.
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is relishing the prospect of Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan being available as he targets further improvement in his side.
He dropped the ball under no great pressure, allowing the alert Ibrahimovic to volley home from the edge of the box and quite transform the game’s dynamic.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was on target for Jose Mourinho’s United but they slipped to their first defeat of the season.
“It was a fight until the end and we’re very happy to get the win”.
Ibrahimovic missed numerous-goal scoring chances. That made the difference.
“But I did at half-time, we changed the direction of the game but we didn’t get the compensation I think we deserved in the second half”.
“It is more hard because it is a big decision and sometimes the referees they are like us, they are human and they think twice before big decisions”.
“The performance from Bravo, his personality, showed me a lot”.
Bravo instigated another risky first-half attack by skimming a long throw between two United midfielders and to the feet of De Bruyne.
“And in the second half, very pleased with many things, disappointed with the result and disappointed two very important decisions from Mark that were against us. That means a lot”.
Asked about both that and the Bravo-Rooney incident, Guardiola said he did not see either, but did suggest City full-back Aleksandar Kolarov had been the victim of some unpunished foul play. “Claudio Bravo is a penalty and a red card”, Mourinho said.
“What Claudio did was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen”.
United pressed for an equaliser that never arrived during the second half, with Bravo’s erratic showing giving them continued cause for encouragement, but Mourinho was left to reflect on three Premier League points lost before the interval.
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. I was feeling [we would score again] until the last minute, like we did at Hull City.
Rashford has struggled for a starting spot under Jose Mourinho since the arrival of Ibrahimovic, but he scored a stoppage-time victor against Hull City last month before linking up with the England Under-21 side, for whom he hit a hat-trick in their 6-1 thrashing of Norway.
“He (Iheanacho) is our striker and I trust him”. We are adults. He is a father and I am a father.
He said: “I came here”.
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“He wants to win, I want to win”.
