United fans will hope that Pep is right for once.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has made a huge claim about Manchester United in the wake of their derby on BT Sport.
The former Barcelona boss has been the conductor of many painful memories for the Old Trafford faithful and has been the dominant force in the city since he arrived.
Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Ragnick have all been seen off by the Spaniard, and Erik ten Hag’s first derby as United manager looked to be following the same pattern.
City easily disposed of their rivals 6-3 in that game, but things are looking a lot different for the Red Devils as they have accumulated a fantastic run of form and built some momentum going into this game.
Casemiro in the middle of the park has been a particular game changer and the shored up defence up of Varane and Martinez means that they are a lot harder to break down.
This is something that the City boss is acutely aware of and made a bold claim when asked in the pre-match press conference if United were in the title race or not.
“When I see the way United are playing, why not? United have always been top-class teams. It was just a question of being settled, patient and supporting the manager unconditionally.
“United is playing now how they play all their history.”
"The patterns are better, good run of results…"
"United now, I think is back!"
Pep Guardiola picks out how Man Utd have improved since the last time the two met in the Premier League… 📈 pic.twitter.com/jdXOwVDFLs
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2023
Last year’s Premiership winning manager was just as complimentary in his pre-match interview with Rio Ferdinand.
“United now, I think is back!”
For once in their lives, the red side of Manchester will be hoping that Guardiola is right.
Related links:
- Manchester United chiefs admit to Antony transfer mistake
- Roy Keane comments on Manchester City will inevitably start a worthwhile debate
- ‘You created a monster’; Rio Ferdinand blames Pep Guardiola for Mikel Arteta’s rise
