Bravo was brought in by City boss Guardiola from Barcelona last month as a replacement for Joe Hart, with the cited reason being the Chile international’s superior ability with his feet.
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The Swedish superstar backs Marcus Rashford to become an elite player in years to come.
Bravo could have given away a penalty with a studs-up challenge on an infuriated Wayne Rooney, while Ibrahimovic had a goal ruled out when he deflected the ball home from a clearly offside position, but United never really got the upper hand in the match.
“Football isn’t easy”, De Bruyne said.
The Belgium midfielder also showed a clinical side, running onto Iheanacho’s flick-on from a long clearance to poke the ball past Daley Blind and beat goalkeeper David de Gea from the edge of the area. And after, there was an outstanding goal from Ibrahimovic.
“Sometimes when things like that happen, maybe the player can think “it’s my fault, it’s my fault”. I am happy that he is with us and he played well”. “So probably in the next big game in the Premier League, I know who can accept the dimension of the game, which is very important”.
“They fought a lot, my players, so I have to control a little bit more my side”.
“I’m not anxious about the meeting with Man City, as it will be a completely different game”.
“We go to one of the best stadiums in the world and win the game”, Guardiola said. “That means a lot”.
The Champions League group-stage draw used to hold all kinds of fears for City, who failed to make it past the first hurdle in their first two seasons in the competition.
Specifically on the display against United, Guardiola said: “The first half was good – our build-up was correct, patient, and we attacked in the right moments. What I did see is Kolarov is missing one tooth – that is sure”.
De Bruyne – who opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a slotted finish, then saw his shot off the post in the 36th tee up Iheanacho – has emphasised how City had to battle to see out the victory.
Having been outplayed by the visitors, United were suddenly back in the contest thanks to Ibrahimovic’s goal three minutes before the interval and, after the break, having changed their personnel, they looked a far better side.
“For me the next big game is against Feyenoord and the next game (Rashford) is going to play”, Mourinho told reporters.
Much of the pre-match focus had been on the stormy history of the relationship between Guardiola and Mourinho.
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Guardiola said he had not seen the incident, but revealed that Aleksandar Kolarov had lost a tooth during the game.
