Pep Guardiola received the ultimate seal of approval after his derby triumph – from former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson sought out Guardiola, embracing and congratulating him in a corridor at Old Trafford after his Man City side ’s deserved 2-1 win over their arch- rivals.
The United legend was seen shaking his head in disbelief in the directors’ box as City subjected his former club to a chastening football lesson on their own patch, albeit not as humiliating as the 6-1 defeat he was on the end of there in 2011.
The final scoreline suggested a tight encounter, but the reality is that City exposed the gulf in class between themselves and United, one borne out by Ferguson’s reaction to the defeat.
On Saturday’s evidence, City are a cut above United — a worrying scenario for Reds boss Jose Mourinho, given old foe Guardiola was without suspended star striker Sergio Aguero and skipper and centre-back Vincent Kompany and £20m summer-signing midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, both still recovering from injuries.
When those three are playing, the Blues are going to be even stronger than they were in a comprehensive win which maintained their 100 per cent record under Guardiola.
And for the perfectionist Catalan, there is still huge room for improvement — as evidenced by his manic ranting on the Old Trafford touchline, even when his side were 2-0 up in the first half and in total control.
“I’m frustrated when I [his team] don’t have the ball,” said Guardiola. “They had the ball. I want to control and I wasn’t able to do that.
“Frustration is when you want to do that, you want to change something, and you’re not able to. But they fight a lot, the players, so I have to control more my side. But it’s what I am.
“But of course it’s important for us, especially for the first half of the performance, to believe in what we’re doing and, in the second half, to show it as well — when we weren’t playing like we did in the first half.
“We can’t win the title without all of the players, so I’m looking forward to Sergio, Vincent and Gundogan coming back.
“I would prefer to come here with all of the key players, believe me.”
De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 15th minute, then struck a post in the 36th minute, allowing team-mate Kelechi Iheanacho to score with a simple tap-in.
United pulled one back when keeper Claudio Bravo, making his debut, dropped a cross and Zlatan Ibrahimovic took full advantage with an exquisite finish.
But the visitors held out for the win — one which has already put them clear of the neighbours and marked them out as the team to beat in the Premier League this season.
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