PEP 1 JOSE 0
Guardiola joy as he outfoxes old rival Mourinho at Old Trafford
JOSE MOURINHO yesterday accused referee Mark Clattenburg of twice denying his side blatant penalties as bitter rival Pep Guardiola took the points and glory in their first Manchester derby.
United were beaten 2-1 but Mourinho was convinced that City keeper Claudio Bravo should have conceded a spot kick and been sent off for lunging at Wayne Rooney in the second half.
And the United boss was equally adamant that Clattenburg should have been pointing to the penalty spot after Nicolas Otamendi handled in the box soon after.
‘I’m very disappointed in the two decisions of Mark Clattenburg,’ Mourinho said. Bravo certainly seemed lucky to escape punishment for his studs-up challenge on Rooney after the former Barcelona keeper had lost control in the box.
‘Bravo should be a red card and a penalty,’ stormed Mourinho. ‘If one of my players does that in the middle of the park it’s a red card and a free kick. In the box it is more difficult to give and he didn’t want to give it.’
Clattenburg, England’s top ref who took charge of the finals of both the Champions League and European Championship this summer, was also criticised by Mourinho for not giving handball when Antonio Valencia’s cross hit Otamendi’s arm. ‘It’s a penalty,’ said Mourinho after suffering his first league defeat since arriving at the club. ‘Some pundits will say no because it’s the back of the arm but [the player] knows. He’s looking at the ball. We are not
happy with these decisions.’
Mourinho did however shoulder some of the blame for the defeat, conceding some of his big-name stars simply had not performed in a onesided first half in which Kevin de Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho put City 2-0 in front. Zlatan Ibrahimovic pulled a goal back for United.
Mourinho, who took off Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard at half-time, said: ‘I had two or three players in the first half that, if I know what is going to happen, I don’t play them. But this is football and sometimes players disappoint managers.
‘I’m disappointed with some really poor individual performances. Because of the characteristics of the game, I thought we could hurt them playing with some individuals with some qualities. They didn’t give me what I want. Their fault or my fault? It’s always my fault because it’s my choice.
‘I didn’t change it after 20 minutes because I don’t want to destroy the players. It wasn’t just about them, it was much more than Miki and Jesse. Other players were also not playing really well. I don’t like to single out players.
‘In the first half it was Manchester City’s
half and they got what they deserved. In the second half we were the best team and didn’t get what we deserved.
‘That’s football and mistakes from the referee are part of football, too.’
Meanwhile, Guardiola leapt to the defence of the underfire debutant Bravo, who was brought in to replace the unwanted Joe Hart.
Bravo came to collect a Rooney free-kick but dropped the ball, allowing Ibrahimovic to score before the penalty incident with Rooney.
‘Claudio Bravo didn’t make a mistake because he attacked the ball and I love it when goalkeepers take a decision to go 10, 15 metres off their line and do that,’ said Guardiola.
‘And then there is an outstanding goal from Ibrahimovic — and sometimes that can happen. And maybe the player can think: “Oh it’s my fault, it’s my fault”. Instead, Claudio said: “OK it’s football, it has happened, the situation is unlucky”.
‘And what did he do in the second half? Play again and play again and play again with the ball. I know it’s a risk because, if he loses the ball, it’s a goal against us.
‘But when we win with that, we win many, many things. I try to convince the players that it’s the best way to control the game, to dominate and to concede as few as possible. That’s why the performance from Claudio Bravo showed huge personality. He was amazing with his feet and the saves and attacking the ball.’
Guardiola claimed not to have seen the penalty incidents — but did reveal that Aleksandar Kolarov had lost a tooth, which appeared to happen in a challenge with Belgian Marouane Fellaini.