_Man Utd won another derby at City with Solskjaer getting the better of his opposite number in the home dugout.(Image: Photo by DAVE THOMPSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)_
Pep Guardiola and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are on good terms.
Even when the managers of Manchester City and Manchester United clashed at one stage on the Etihad Stadium touchline, over a passage of play when the hosts played on instead of giving United the ball back, the two quickly made peace.
“No problem, no problem, it’s solved,” was Guardiola’s quick reply to the suggestion there was a rift between the pair. Solskjaer immediately offered a fist-bump to the City boss after the incident and it was over — perhaps to the disappointment of the drama-seeking Sky producers — in a second.
Of course, it is not unusual for this kind of respect to exist between top managers these days. Gone, by and large, is the era of press conference barbs from the likes of Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez and Sir Alex Ferguson and genuine needle between the dugouts. The modern Premier League era is a little more PR-savvy, and sanitised, and has been way before covid-19 restrictions meant the managers couldn’t get within two metres of each other
But you do feel there is genuine respect between these two current Manchester incumbents.
And Guardiola’s comments about Solskjaer have shown in the past why critics of the United boss might be a little hasty to write him off as tactically naive.
You do not win three of your last four Premier League meetings with Guardiola’s City — drawing the other one — without having something about you. Some might deride the wins at the Etihad as based purely on sitting deep and counter-attacking, but even Solskjaer’s opposite number gave the United boss more credit than that. He couldn’t criticise his own team too much; he could only praise the United gameplan, which resulted in a deserved 2-0 win for the visitors and the local bragging rights.
“It was a fantastic game,” said Guardiola. “United make incredibly high pressing and they are so fast on the counter. We played good. Unfortunately we couldn’t be clinical up front so we congratulate United.”
_Ekari reporting for Avant Sports Desk_