Marouane Fellaini is hurting as much as anyone after the Manchester derby defeat but knows United can not afford to dwell on it with domestic and European assignments to balance.
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“For Pep Guardiola and City, it’s a big day”.
In a resumption of the often-feisty rivalry between soccer’s two most coveted coaches, Guardiola got the better of Mourinho as Man City beat Man United 2-1 in the biggest match of the English Premier League so far.
Mourinho opted to drop Juan Mata in favour of his £26 million summer signing but, after watching him lose the ball on a number of occasions, was wrong to do so.
“It was a very important victory for us”.
Bravo is a world-class goalkeeper, make no mistake. That made the difference.
His side was undone not just by the disappointing performances of its players but by some decisions that went against the home team during the game, according to Mourinho. “I had many [conversations] on the phone, lots of SMS”. He was wonderful with his feet and saves, and going to attack the ball.
“I trust him completely”.
“You can not come to Old Trafford and dominate”.
“If the ball is played cleanly then a yellow card is issued but if the opponent is caught, exclusively or as well as the ball, a red card should be shown”. “What I did see is Kolarov is missing one tooth – that is sure”.
The Red Devils endured a very disappointing first half against rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford.
Kelechi Iheanacho showed why Pep Guardiola had no problem in thrusting the teenager into the Manchester derby by scoring the victor in Saturday’s 2-1 victory.
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.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled one back for United in the 42nd minute to set up an intriguing second half but a resilient City held out for a deserved three points.
“It only gets easier when you know the players very, very well”.
Yet what was Mourinho really thinking as he watched Guardiola’s side running rings round his men in the opening half, all largely orchestrated by a player whose obvious quality was lost on him when he was at Chelsea? “I know his future will be absolutely brilliant”, Mourinho added.
“What has happened has happened”.
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“If you ask me whether we are ready to compete in Europe, we are not ready”.
