Manchester United vs Manchester City: Pep Guardiola defends 'amazing' Claudio Bravo after derby debut
Bravo was brought in by City boss Guardiola from Barcelona last month as a replacement for Hart
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pep Guardiola defended Claudio Bravo after the goalkeeper's troubled debut for Manchester City in the 2-1 derby victory at Manchester United.
Bravo was brought in by City boss Guardiola from Barcelona last month as a replacement for Joe Hart, with the cited reason being the Chile international's superior ability with his feet.
But Bravo appeared to struggle on that front and in general at Old Trafford, enduring several shaky moments, one of which saw him flap at a free-kick, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic striking home the loose ball.
He later lunged at Wayne Rooney after turning into danger in his own box - an incident that prompted no action from referee Mark Clattenburg, but which United boss Jose Mourinho after the game argued merited a penalty and Bravo being sent off.
In his own post-match analysis, Guardiola was keen to stress the moment that led to Ibrahimovic's goal should not be viewed as a mistake by Bravo, praised his new signing for the "personality" he had shown and even labelled his efforts "amazing".
Guardiola said: "Claudio Bravo today showed us the most important thing in football.
"It is not a mistake, because he attacked the ball and I love when goalkeepers take decisions to attack the ball. And after, there was an outstanding goal from Ibrahimovic. That made the difference.
"Sometimes when things like that happen, maybe the player can think 'it's my fault, it's my fault'. Instead, Claudio said 'it's football, it's happened, we were unlucky' - because the situation was unlucky - and then in the second half he played again, and again, and again with the ball.
"I know it is a risk, because if you lose the ball it is a goal against us, but when we win with that, we win in many things.
"His personality showed me a lot today. He was amazing with his feet and saves, and going to attack the ball. I am happy for him.
"It not easy, your first game after two training sessions, to come her to Old Trafford and play with that personality. That means a lot."
Mourinho also claimed Clattenburg had been wrong not to award United a spot-kick for a handball by City defender Nicolas Otamendi.
Asked about both that and the Bravo-Rooney incident, Guardiola said he did not see either, but did suggest City full-back Aleksandar Kolarov had been the victim of some unpunished foul play.
He added: "The spectators maybe said penalty, but I didn't see it. What I did see is Kolarov is missing one tooth - that is sure."
PA.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments