Juan Mata celebrating after scoring the winner.PHOTO/TeamTalk
MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, Oct 26 – Juan Mata’s second-half strike earned Manchester United a 1-0 win over holders Manchester City on Wednesday as Jose Mourinho’s side bounced back to reach the English Football League Cup quarter-finals.
Humiliated 4-0 by Mourinho’s former club Chelsea at the weekend, United got back to winning ways and claimed a measure of revenge for their 2-1 defeat by Pep Guardiola’s City in last month’s league derby.
The result at Old Trafford gave Mourinho only his third victory in 13 encounters with Guardiola, who has gone six games without victory for the first time in his glittering managerial career.
Mourinho previously won the competition three times at Chelsea and with City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur all falling by the wayside in the fourth round, his path to the final is clearing once again.
While City remain top of the league, on goal difference, and although Guardiola selected a much weaker team than Mourinho, their early season momentum has deserted them.
Mourinho used his programme notes to say “sorry” to United’s fans for the result at Chelsea and his decision to make only four changes to his starting XI showed his eagerness to make amends.
Guardiola, in contrast, made nine changes, notably handing starts to youngsters Pablo Maffeo and Aleix Garcia.
His side should have gone ahead in the second minute when Kelechi Iheanacho headed over from Jesus Navas’s cross and they might have had a penalty when Michael Carrick caught Garcia near the byline.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba both wasteful, United struggled to establish a foothold in City territory and when they did, the visitors’ defenders were on hand to block.
Had Marcos Rojo not rushed across to block from Iheanacho, meanwhile, United would have trailed at the interval.
But Mourinho’s half-time team talk had the desired effect and after City goalkeeper Willy Caballero had touched a shot from Pogba onto the post, after a slick United move, the hosts took a 54th-minute lead.
Leaving Nicolas Otamendi on his back in an aerial challenge, Ibrahimovic crossed from the left and with Ander Herrera and Fernando colliding at the near post, Mata popped up to sweep home.
Southampton beat Sunderland at St Mary’s courtesy of a fine 20-yard curler from former Lille winger Boufal, who was making his full debut.
