Pep Guardiola Scared Of Manchester United After Southampton Loss

If Manchester City puts up the same poor performance that saw them lose to struggling Southampton in the Carabao Cup, Pep Guardiola concedes that they have “no chance” of winning the Manchester derby against Manchester United.

On Wednesday night at St. Mary’s, City failed to get a shot on goal and were eliminated unexpectedly from the quarterfinals by a score of 2-0.

The defending Premier League winners are back in action on Saturday at Old Trafford, and manager Guardiola is conscious that a significant improvement is needed.

FT: Southampton 2-0 Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola has lost a domestic cup quarter-final tie for the first time in his managerial career. 😫 pic.twitter.com/IpQheuxcgF

— Squawka (@Squawka) January 11, 2023

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“Every game is different, different competition,” he said, looking ahead to the United game. “But of course, if we perform in this way, we will not have a chance.

“We know exactly what we have to do to play better, so that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

First-half goals from Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo condemned the eight-time League Cup winners to an unexpected loss on the south coast.

City were toothless in attack and not even the second-half introductions of substitutes Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland could spark a fightback.

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Captain Ilkay Gundogan wasted the visitors’ best chance of a poor first-half performance which ultimately proved fatal to the club’s hopes of progression.

The Germany midfielder believes the disappointment can serve as “wake-up call at the right time” as City continue to chase down league leaders Arsenal.

“There’s no room for any mistakes, or for any poor performances,” Gundogan told his club’s website. “Hopefully, if there is something good we can take out of this game, it was something like a wake-up call at the right time.

“Even though it is sad and disappointing to be out of this cup, hopefully, at the end, in a few weeks we can at least look back and take something good out of this game.”