Pep Guardiola: Manchester City not yet able to compete with Europe’s best

United boss Jose Mourinho felt Bravo should have been sent off later – and United awarded a penalty – for his strong tackle on Rooney in the second half after he nearly gave the ball away with his poor ball control.

City’s attention quickly turns to Tuesday’s Champions League encounter at home to Borussia Monchengladbach where Bravo is likely to start once more and team-mate Nolito is confident in his ability to shine.

Ibrahimovic is a great player to have around in helping Rashford reach his potential, and overall, and with the tutelage of the Swede, Mourinho, and all the United academy executives who contributed greatly in making him the player he is today, nothing should hold him back from becoming the world class player we all know he can be very soon.

Fellaini, who was one of the better United players in our ratings from the clash, was disappointed by the loss but knows United can not allow that feeling to fester, with the Red Devils having to prepare for Thursday’s trip to Rotterdam to take on Feyenoord as their Europa League campaign gets under way.

“There was the chance to make counter attacks, and we had many”. So I think we read the game really well.

Guardiola said he had not seen the incident, but revealed that Aleksandar Kolarov had lost a tooth during the game.

“Obviously we had some slip-ups here and there, but overall I had a good year”. We have lost a derby in front of our fans and it is painful.

“But it is just two months together, so we have time to get better”.

“Let’s say our team didn’t play well in the first-half and their responsibilities are my responsibilities”. The attitude and spirit in the second half was fantastic.

“I’m frustrated when we don’t have the ball”, he said.

The United manager hauled off Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard at half-time and said it was only because he did not want to “destroy them” that he did not substitute them earlier.

The way Guardiola praised Claudio Bravo’s performance after the match tells you all you need to know about what he wants from his goalkeepers.

“They fought a lot, my players, so I have to control a little bit more my side”.

The match had been billed as a showdown between Mourinho and Guardiola, who fought a ferocious running battle during their time as coaches of Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively.

But the sight of the pair embracing each other both just before kick-off and at the final whistle was in keeping with their efforts at their press conferences on Friday to play down their personal rivalry.

“It was a fight until the end and we’re very happy to get the win”.