The incredible comeback at Etihad

After the win over Man City in the Champions League, coach Jurgen Klopp decided to let some of Liverpool's key players rest for the derby against Everton. Salah and Roberto Firmino, important players of the "Red Brigade" were left out..This forced Pep to make a decisive decision in the derby at Etihad Stadium a few hours later.

The magic of the masters

Jose Mourinho ruined Pep's early coronation at the Etihad Stadium with an unbelievable comeback. Photo: Internet

Both are good coaches, leading big clubs, so Pep Guardiola and Mourinho have a lot of fate. This is the 21st time Pep Guardiola and Mourinho have faced each other in their careers. Pep has won 9 matches (drawn 7, lost 4). Pep is the most annoying opponent of the Portuguese coach, the one who has caused Mourinho the most defeats in his illustrious career.

Before the match, coach Pep Guardiola shared: "Man City will go into the field to win. But of course, our eyes are also on Tuesday's match with Liverpool. Win, lose or draw with MU, our concern is also the battle on Tuesday.”.

Having said that, Man City entered the match with a very strange formation, when Laporte, Kyle Walker, Bruyne, Jesus and Aguero were all out, and they did not have any real strikers on the field. Meanwhile, MU played with their strongest squad, so they were very confident even though they were away because the "Red Devils"'s record at Etihad (2 wins, 1 draw, 3 losses) was better than when playing at Old Trafford (1 win, 1 draw, 4 losses).

With a 4-6-0 formation, Man City controlled the ball much better and launched effective attacks, while MU did not have any dangerous opportunities because of continuous high pressure. The first half belonged to Man City and they had 2 goals when Kompany bravely headed to open the score for Man City and then Gundogan skillfully turned and finished into MU's net in the penalty area.

MU had a terrible first half when they controlled the ball only 34% and did not have a single shot on target against Man City. The last time the "Red Devils" played so badly was in October 2015 and that was also the Manchester derby.

Don't want to be a clown

Pogba is the best player in the 176th Manchester derby. Photo: Internet

During the break, Mourinho warned that he and his players would be turned into clowns watching Man City win the championship right after this match. That affected the MU players, because time was running out, they only had 45 minutes to save themselves and Paul Pogba was a player for big matches.

Pogba is not having a good season as he is injured and has to sit out due to conflicts with Jose Mourinho. Since the beginning of the Premier League season, the French player has only 3 goals and 9 assists after 19 appearances.

Since Alexis Sanchez joined Man United, the problem of combining the Chilean striker with star Paul Pogba has always been a challenge that has made Mourinho "rack his brain".

There have been many experiments by the Portuguese strategist, but it was not until the second half of the Manchester derby that the effectiveness was clearly shown. Freed from defensive duties, the French midfielder was free to operate in the central area while Sanchez, would drift out to the two wings. Pogba "went crazy" at the right time for MU with 2 precious goals, while the home team's Sterling proved to be too unlucky in situations facing goalkeeper David De Gea.

From a free kick on the left wing, centre-back Smalling joined the attack comfortably, tapping the ball in close to the goal to help the Red Devils complete a wonderful comeback at the Etihad Stadium. The centre-back was able to make up for his mistake when he let Kompany head the ball in. In the remaining minutes, coach Pep Guardiola played his all out by sending De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, and Aguero onto the field. But they only served to warm up for the match against Liverpool next weekend and could not save a humiliating defeat.

Records

For the first time in 10 years, Man City lost after leading by 2 goals at home. Previously, Man City lost by the same score to Liverpool when leading by 2 goals. And for the first time in his career, Pep Guardiola suffered 2 consecutive defeats with each match conceding 3 goals. Just a few days earlier, Man City lost 3-0 to Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Paul Pogba became the first MU player to score a brace in the Manchester derby since Wayne Rooney in December 2012.

After the 176th Manchester derby, Jose Mourinho was quick to congratulate Pep Guardiola on his upcoming championship, saying that Man City is an excellent club that does not give any team a chance to catch up. Meanwhile, Man City fans have the right to worry about the disastrous defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League, which was caused by the loss to MU./.