Guardiola noted that Man United defended very narrowly and only allowed his team to operate on the flanks..
By Kehinde Okeowo
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola has said Premier League arch-rivals, Manchester United played a tactical set-up that was “difficult” to contend with on Sunday.
He made this known after a Premier League derby between the two Manchester clubs ended in a goalless draw at Old Trafford.
City had a handful of chances, mostly falling to Omar Marmoush, but were unable to find a way past United goalkeeper, André Onana.
Speaking to reporters after the encounter, Guardiola admitted that his team found it difficult to break down the Red Devil’s defensive formation.
The Spanish tactician also noted that Man United defended very narrowly and only allowed his team to operate on the flanks.
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He said: “We know that playing against a 5-4-1 is always difficult. They defended very narrowly and allowed us only to operate on the flanks, outside the congestion.
“For many years, I’ve come up against teams using the 5-4-1, defending deep. So it’s nothing new. Normally, we manage to find a way through because of the quality and talent of our players.
“But sometimes there’s an extra element missing — perhaps sharpness or composure — and that’s something we cannot always predict. They didn’t play brilliantly, but we weren’t in a position to punish them either.
“They tried, we tried — but we weren’t good enough in key moments to really hurt them or take advantage of the spaces that opened up.”
The result left Man City in the 5th position on the Premier League log table after garnering 51 points from 31 games.
Meanwhile, Man United also remained in 13th position behind Brentford with just 38 points.
