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Pep Guardiola acknowledged Manchester City’s lack of energy cost them in Saturday’s 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, with the City manager conceding his opponents were the better team while expressing frustration over Diogo Dalot avoiding a red card for his challenge on Jeremy Doku.
Guardiola Concedes United Were Better Team After City’s Energy-Sapping Derby Defeat
Michael Carrick guided Manchester United to a dominant victory in his first match in charge following Ruben Amorim’s departure, with goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu securing the three points. United also had three goals disallowed for offside and struck the woodwork twice, while City managed just one shot on target throughout the entire 90 minutes at Old Trafford.
Guardiola admitted his team’s performance fell short of the required standard against their local rivals. “The better team won,” the City manager said after the match. “They had energy we didn’t have. Congratulations to them. They had the chances at the end with crosses. We know they are a transitional team, but in general, they were better.”
The Spanish coach highlighted his team’s inability to create meaningful attacking opportunities during the contest. “We never made a threat, crosses or movement, but that’s part of the energy,” Guardiola explained. “They start really strong, that’s normal.” City’s lacklustre display represented a significant blow to their title aspirations, with the team failing to match United’s intensity from the opening whistle.
Guardiola also criticised the decision to show Diogo Dalot only a yellow card for his early challenge on Jeremy Doku, which former Premier League referee Mike Dean described as deserving a red card. “He should be sent off, it’s a red card since the game,” Guardiola stated. “But it will be poor as a manager, I’ve never been that, if you analyse that, to win or lose a game.”
Despite his frustration with the officiating decision, Guardiola refused to use the incident as an excuse for his team’s poor performance. “I could say that and blame. We will not grow up, we will not move forward,” he added. “If the players have excuses for that reason, we’ll be in trouble in the future. We have to look at ourselves, and today it’s simple.”
