Guardiola lavishes praise on Bravo despite shaky debut

Mark Scott
Claudio Bravo: Praised by Pep

Claudio Bravo: Praised by Pep

Pep Guardiola had high praise for goalkeeper Claudio Bravo after his performance for Manchester City against Manchester United.

City inflicted upon Jose Mourinho his first defeat as United manager on Saturday at Old Trafford, with Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho inspiring a 2-1 win.

The summer signing was also called into question numerous times over his decision-making, as his propensity for passing the ball short almost put City in danger on a number of occasions.

Some feel the former Barcelona keeper could have even been sent off after a challenge on Wayne Rooney, but Mark Clattenburg adjudged his slide tackle to be fair.

Asked on the shot-stopper’s performance after the game, Guardiola could not hold back in his praise.

“What Claudio did today was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen,” he told Sky Sports 1.

“I like the goalkeepers to play in front with the long balls. After that he continued playing and continued picking the long balls up. If you make a mistake it’s how you react; that’s football.

“It’s brilliant from Ibrahimovic rather than the situation from Claudio.”

You can watch Guardiola give his full verdict on the Manchester derby win here.