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 EFL 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 second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Jan. 29.
Photo: EPA-EFE
However, Guardiola remains wary after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men rebounded after losing 2-0 at home to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in last season’s Champions League last 16.
“It’s a good result, but it is not over because it is United,” Guardiola said.
“Last season against PSG is a good example,” Guardiola said. “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 Stadium this season, as they tore City apart just a month ago, shocking the Premier League champions.
However, City have restored their dominance of this fixture with a third consecutive win at Old Trafford.
Guardiola responded to the problems that United posed his side last time out by deploying an extra midfielder, with both City strikers Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus left on the bench.
His tactic worked to perfection as the fluid front four — Silva, Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne — were too fleet of foot for a United defense without the injured Harry Maguire.
“I enjoyed it a lot, especially because it worked,” Silva said.
“I think the first half was the perfect 45 minutes,” he said. “We could even have gone to halftime 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.
He turned creator for City’s second goal, as one pass split the United defense and Mahrez rounded David de Gea to slot into an empty net.
Five minutes later, it was 3-0, as De Bruyne left Phil Jones flat on the ground before his powerful shot was parried by De Gea into the path of the unfortunate Pereira, who could only turn the ball into his own goal.
Only a brilliant save from De Gea to deny Silva a second and Sterling’s miss from an inviting Kyle Walker cross prevented the scoreline from becoming even more embarrassing for United before the break.
City eased up after the break and United grabbed a lifeline when they finally caught the visitors cold on the break, as Mason Greenwood teed up Rashford to calmly slot into the far corner for his 17th goal of the season.
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 that landed him the United job on a permanent basis in March last year.
“We’ve shown before we’ve been down from a home tie and turned it round,” Solskjaer said. “We’ve just got to believe when we go to the Etihad and put a performance on.”
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