Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will be scared of Manchester United’s counter-attacking in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at the Etihad, believes former United midfielder Darren Fletcher.
The Premier League champions picked up a comfortable win over the Red Devils on Tuesday night, brushing them aside 3-1 at Old Trafford.
City raced into a three-goal lead in the first half, before a Marcus Rashford strike in the second half gave United a sniff of a chance in the second leg.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side won 2-1 away to Manchester City in the Premier League this season as they put on a counter-attacking masterclass, and Fletcher reckons this will be playing on Guardiola’s mind.
‘United are still in the tie and at half-time it was very worrying,’ Fletcher told Sky Sports after the game.
‘They showed fight, they showed heart, Ole solved a problem, [half-time substitute] Nemanja Matic was fantastic.
‘They’ve given themselves a small chance, it’s going to take a big effort.
‘But get the first goal at the Etihad, let the nerves build, show that they’re dangerous on the counter-attack, which Pep knows as well.
‘Pep’s scared of that, that’s why he’s come up with this tactical plan tonight, because he saw what United did to them at the Etihad in the league.’
Guardiola’s move to play no central striker and overload the midfield proved an excellent decision as City dominated the play throughout the first 45 minutes and killed the game by half-time.
Bernardo Silva opened the scoring with a wonderful left-footed strike, before Riyad Mahrez raced through on goal to round David de Gea and double the lead.
An Andreas Pereira own-goal added insult to injury for the Red Devils who now have a huge task on their hands to reach the Wembley final.
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