Mourinho lost for the ninth time to Guardiola but insisted he would not analyse the derby defeat since he was already aware of United’s shortcomings and was focused on Thursday’s Europa League tie at Feyenoord.
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Now they share a city and the desire for Premier League success, with Guardiola striking the first blow as Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho’s first-half goals proved enough for Manchester City to leave Old Trafford with a 2-1 win.
“The next big game is against Feyenoord and he is going to play”, Mourinho said. I trust him completely and I know his future will be absolutely brilliant. “This game [the derby], I know clearly what happened in the first-half, I know clearly what happened in the second-half”.
Mourinho opted to give Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan their first starts of the Premier League season – but hauled both men off at half-time.
“The second penalty is Otamendi handball, which I believe that some of you will say “that’s not a penalty”. What I told them at half-time was: ‘For some of you, it looks like you are trying to do what I told you not to do'”.
“It was not just about them [Mkhitaryan and Lingard]”.
“I’m going home to watch Den Haag against Feyenoord”.
On the display against United, Guardiola added: “The first half was good – our build-up was correct, patient, and we attacked in the right moments”.
The 18-year-old has enjoyed a stunning 2016 since scoring twice on his debut against FC Midtjylland, netting five goals in just four Premier League starts last season – including the victor in the Manchester derby in March – before a debut strike for England earned him a place at Euro 2016. “We were a team that had the courage and honesty and dignity to chase with pride the result which I think we deserved – we deserved a goal in the second half”.
‘He coped with many situations.
Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho has described his derby victor against Manchester United as a “dream come true”.
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Bravo, who started his footballing career as a striker, demonstrated his technical skills by spraying passes out to the halfway line during the pre-match warmup and he did the same during the game, even when put under pressure by United’s players.
