BBC pundit Alan Shearer believes Manchester City were lucky to only lose 2-1 to bitter rivals Manchester United on Saturday after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side outclassed the champions.
First-half goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial put the visitors in control, and although City scored late on through Nicolas Otamendi they did not do enough to salvage a point.
Shearer believes Pep Guardiola made mistakes tactically in the encounter and that his side should have been beaten by a greater margin.
Speaking on Match of the Day Shearer said: “City played right into United’s hands, they (United) exploited it brilliantly in terms of how quick they were in attack, they had the width, the pace and the intensity.
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“They attacked with great aggression and time after time, City left three on four and United punished them. It’s no exaggeration, it could have been and should have been four or five.
“They opened them up with ease every time they went forward. When teams are brave and prepared to get through their press, it’s there for you.
“There’s lots of space, City just couldn’t handle them. They should have scored more goals.”
The win was United’s second positive result this week following their victory over Tottenham on Wednesday, and they now lie just five points off fourth placed Chelsea in the battle to qualify for the Champions League.
Guardiola, meanwhile, refused to give up on winning a third Premier League title in a row, despite the fact his side are now a huge 14 points behind leaders Liverpool .
“We have to try to continue, there are many things to play for,” Guardiola said. “It’s difficult because the opponents are on an incredible run winning 15 games out of 16.
“It is not time to think about that. We have to think about what we have to do and think about the next game. Doesn’t matter if six, eight or 14 points we have to continue. We are a fantastic team.”
