Manchester City managed to win the first derby of the season against Manchester United as Pep Guardiola got one over his rival Jose Mourinho in a very intense game. City managed to dominate most of the first half and deserved their 2 goal lead.
It looked like that’s how the teams would go in at half time, but a mistake from Claudio Bravo a few minutes before the end of the first half gave Zlatan the chance to pull one back and he never hesitates.
But City managed to hold on, to their 1 goal advantage in the second half and churn out the win. Kevin D Bruyne was named man of the match for his outstanding performance as Iheanacho also got on the scoresheet.
Guardiola was asked about Bravo’s performance after the game. The Chilean did not have the best of debuts, looking like he could have lost possession on more than one occasion yesterday.
But Pep described it a little differently that what people expected.
“What Claudio did was one of the best performances I've ever seen. I like goalkeepers to play in front and after that [Ibrahimovic] goal, he continued playing in our build-up, playing long balls and coming out to pick it up.”
"In football, it's about how you react to mistakes -- it shows character. He continued playing. It means a lot. The way we train and the way we play has given me a lot of confidence. We played good in the first half because of Claudio.”
“I like the keepers to attack the ball and after what happened, in the second half he continued to play and that's a good thing about his personality. He was one of the reasons we played well in the first half.”
"Yeah [if you pass the ball from the back] it can be too risky; if you lose the ball they will score but you can control the game. Until my last day in England, I will try to play with the ball as much as possible. I know it's impossible for 90 minutes but I'm sorry, I will not negotiate that.”
Bravo had several nervy moments yesterday but he managed to stick to his style of playing which is what impressed the manager. But it will be risky to continue playing in the same fashion throughout the campaign.
But Pep is adamant to stick to his system of playing and it has worked out for his so far. Will this philosophy take them to the title?
