Manchester: Manchester derbies are always a special occasion. This season however, the rivalry between the two clubs have been even more intensified due the presence of two maverick managers – Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho – in the respective dugouts.
Largely regarded as two of the best managers in the football world, Guardiola and Mourinho have honed their friendship and rivalry in their early days, when the former was a player at FC Barcelona, while the latter was a translator for the then manager Bobby Robson, at the Catalan club.
The rivalry grew, as the Spaniard went on to dominate European football as the manager of Barcelona, while Mourinho was looked upon as his tormentor-in-chief, first as the Inter Milan manager, and then as the Real Madrid boss.
The duo have already faced each other once as the managers of City and United respectively, six weeks ago, when the Sky Blues triumphed 2-1 in the Premier League encounter.
This time however, United midfielder Juan Mata ensured that the Red Devils’ fans were the ones celebrating at the final whistle, as he coolly slotted in a Zlatan Ibrahimovic toe-poke into the City goal, from inside the box.
This victory will serve as a big morale-booster for United, who came into the match on the back of a 4-0 drubbing at Chelsea, last week. That loss was the worst defeat that Mourinho has suffered so far, in his career as a football manager.
City have also not been on the greatest of form. The Blues also suffered a 4-0 defeat at Barcelona, earlier this month. The loss to Manchester United means that City are now on a six-match winless streak in all competitions – something that Guardiola has never had to face during his time as the manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
