Pep Guardiola warned Manchester City of Manchester United’s powers of recovery after his side outclassed their city rivals 3-1 at Old Trafford to put one foot in the League Cup final.
The holders were rampant before the break as Bernardo Silva’s wonder strike, Riyad Mahrez’s cool finish and an own goal from Andreas Pereira put City well on course for a third straight final.
United’s captain for the evening Marcus Rashford restored some pride for the hosts to reduce the deficit 20 minutes from time, but they face a huge task when the sides meet again for the semifinal, second leg on January 29.
However, Guardiola remains wary after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men recovered from losing 2-0 at home to Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s Champions League last 16 to progress.
“It’s a good result, but it is not over because it is United,” Guardiola said. “Last season is a good example against PSG. Hopefully in front of our fans we can make a good game and reach the final.”
United have shown their ability to win at the Etihad already this season as they tore City apart on the counterattack to shock the Premier League champions on home soil just a month ago.
But City restored their recent dominance of this fixture with a third consecutive win at Old Trafford and a fourth in five away derbies since Guardiola took charge.
The Catalan responded to the problems United posed his side last time by deploying an extra midfielder with both City strikers Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus left on the bench.
Guardiola’s tactical plan worked to perfection as a fluid front four of Silva, Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne were too fleet of foot and thought for a United defense without the injured Harry Maguire.
“I enjoyed it a lot, especially because it worked,” said Silva. “I think the first half was the perfect 45 minutes, we could even have gone to half-time winning four or five because we missed a few chances.”
Silva was back to his best and opened the floodgates by smashing a shot into the top corner from outside the box on 17 minutes.
Silva turned creator for City’s second as one pass split the United defense and Mahrez rounded David de Gea to slot into an empty net. Only a brilliant save from De Gea to deny Silva a second and Sterling’s miss from a inviting Kyle Walker cross prevented the scoreline from becoming even more embarrassing for United before the break.
“We just did not recover from those goals until half-time when we could get into their heads a little bit and we did better second half,” added Solskjaer.
There was no late rally from the Red Devils to further cut City’s advantage, leaving Solskjaer hoping for a repeat of the miracle in Paris last March.
Riyad Mahrez scores Manchester City’s second goal. Photo: AFP
