Pep Guardiola beats Mourinho in Manchester derby

The Belgian midfielder contributed a goal and an assist, helping Man City beat Man Utd 2-1 at Old Trafford despite Ibrahimovic scoring.

Eric Bailly's mistake and especially Daley Blind's caused Man Utd to concede a goal in the 15th minute. From a long pass from Aleksandar Kolarov, Kelechi Iheanacho jumped high to head the ball for Kevin De Bruyne to run down and make a dangerous curler that defeated De Gea.

11 minutes later, Man City increased the score to 2-0. De Bruyne dribbled the ball, turned around, got behind two Man Utd defenders and finished with his left foot. The ball bounced to Iheanacho's feet and the Nigerian striker easily tapped the ball into De Gea's net. In the 42nd minute, Man Utd unexpectedly equalized. Man City's new goalkeeper, Claudio Bravo, made a mistake in coming out to catch the ball, giving Ibrahimovic the opportunity to volley the ball to score.

De Bruyne was the best player of the match, the factor that helped Man City finish off the opponent. Photo: Reuters.

However, this was the only goal of the home team in this match. In the second half, the appearance of Marcus Rashford helped Man Utd increase the attack on the left wing. The 18-year-old striker once put the ball into the Man City net in the 70th minute but the referee did not recognize the goal because the ball hit Ibrahimovic, a player who was offside.

De Bruyne was the star who had the decisive say in Man City's attacking situations in this match. Every time the ball came to the 25-year-old midfielder's feet, the home team's goal had to be on guard. In addition to the opening goal and the assist for Iheanacho, in the 75th minute, De Bruyne almost scored a second goal when he ran down to receive a pass from substitute Leroy Sane and finished with one touch, hitting the post of the Man Utd goal.

Another player who deserves praise in this match is Kelechi Iheanacho. Only playing because Sergio Aguero was banned, but the 19-year-old striker's speed made the Man Utd defense miserable. Iheanacho also moved hard and pressed, actively retreating to win the ball back, which is in line with Pep Guardiola's philosophy. The Nigerian player also contributed a goal and an assist for De Bruyne.

Ibrahimovic scored his fourth goal in four Premier League games. Photo: Reuters.

Claudio Bravo's debut did not go as he had hoped. Apart from giving Ibrahimovic a goal at the end of the first half, the Chilean goalkeeper continued to make unsafe moves. In the second minute of injury time, his inaccurate run almost cost Man City a goal. Luckily for Guardiola's team, Ibrahimovic was too hasty, unleashing a weak shot that was blocked by John Stones.

Guardiola’s other new signing, John Stones, was the opposite. He played calmly, repeatedly clearing Bravo’s goal from pressure from the tall players on the Man Utd side. Leroy Sane came on in the second half, showing his skill but not bringing results.

On Man Utd's side, Mourinho's mistake in starting Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan paralyzed the home team's flanks in the first half. Mkhitaryan had a terrible first half, leaving his mark with unfortunate ball losses. Meanwhile, Ibrahimovic was still the bright spot in attack with reasonable pressure and excellent one-touch finishing ability. The goal in this match was the Swedish striker's fourth in four matches in the Premier League.

Anticipating the opponent's possession-based style of play, Mourinho proactively asked his players to drop deep. However, a seemingly harmless long pass from Kolarov, Bailly's lack of initiative in the air and Blind's disastrous waiting for the ball caused Mourinho's plan to fail.

Mourinho once again tasted defeat under Guardiola. Photo: Reuters.

In fact, in terms of the game, Man Utd could not compete with their opponents. Their dangerous situations mainly came from individual efforts or aerial ball fights thanks to the superior physique of Ibrahimovic, Fellaini and Pogba. Man City's midfield, with Silva's creativity and Fernandinho's ability to sweep the ball continuously, constantly disrupting Man Utd's attacking lines, forcing the home team to play long balls.

In this match, the world's most expensive player, Paul Pogba, did not show much. Apart from a few situations of dribbling past the opponent, he could not help the Man Utd midfield control the activities of Silva and De Bruyne. In addition, Pogba also left his position many times, causing the central area in front of the Man Utd penalty area to be dangerously empty many times.

Guardiola, with his expertise in controlling the ball with quick passes and pressing, once again showed his superiority. Even when Man Utd had physical players, Man City still dominated the midfield for most of the match and showed danger with Sterling's crosses and down the flanks. In the first half, Guardiola got into a scuffle with Wayne Rooney because the coach deliberately prevented the Man Utd player from putting the ball into play.

This victory helped Man City rise to the top of the table with 12 points after four rounds. Tomorrow, Chelsea will catch up with Guardiola's army if they win away at Swansea. As for Man Utd, their first defeat of the season puts them at risk of being overtaken by the teams behind.

See the main events of the match