You have to go back more than three years for Pep Guardiola’s last defeat in the League Cup — on October 26, 2016, when his weakened Manchester City lost to a Juan Mata goal in the fourth round at Old Trafford.
It happened during his difficult first season in English football and left City without a win in six games, his worst run as a manager.
Fifteen matches and four penalty shootouts later, Guardiola is still going strong.
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Pep Guardiola has ‘raised the bar’
Solskjaer says it will ‘take time’ for his side to reach Manchester City’s level consistently
The 46-year-old wants his side to repeat the display they put on in their last clash with City
He returns to Old Trafford on Tuesday night for the first instalment of a two-legged semi-final against Manchester United as a back-to-back winner of the Carabao Cup, seeking a hat-trick of successes.
Yet to hear the City boss speak on Monday, you got the impression that progress to this season’s final on March 1 would still mean more to United than City.
‘It’s not the biggest competition in the world but it’s nice to be there,’ said Guardiola.
It has become the norm before Manchester derbies to weigh up the balance of power between United and City, and Guardiola referenced Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous ‘noisy neighbours’ barb with a smile on Monday.
But if anyone thought United’s win at the Etihad in the Premier League last month signalled the start of a shift, it didn’t feel that way talking to the two managers involved.
Indeed, United’s celebrations that day demonstrated just how much they have come to value a victory over their once inferior rivals who are also back-to-back Premier League champions and completed a clean sweep of domestic trophies last season.
City may have fallen behind Liverpool this term, but they are still 13 points ahead of a United side who come into this game on the back of a limp defeat at Arsenal and failure to register a shot on target in the FA Cup draw at Wolves.
‘It’s a different era and a different time,’ said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. ‘When the owners came in, you knew they were going to go for it. We are still in our own heads one of the biggest clubs in the world, but we know that’s going to take time.
Solskjaer says Guardiola ‘has had a big influence’ but not as big as that of Sir Alex Ferguson
Solskjaer also admitted he ‘admires’ City’s ‘values and beliefs’ in their possession based game
‘I admire Pep’s team. They’ve raised the bar so much, it’s something to aim for.’
Solskjaer was asked about a tweet by Gary Lineker claiming that Guardiola has had a more positive influence than anyone in the history of English football.
‘He’s had a big influence, but I have got to say I worked under the most influential one in Sir Alex Ferguson,’ he replied, recalling a meeting with Guardiola’s mentor Johan Cruyff when his son Jordi was a player at United in the ’90s.
‘You see one of the best managers ever and you can see where he has taken his wisdom from.
‘When you watch City, you have to admire what they are trying to do on the pitch. They are sticking true to their values and beliefs.
‘But we beat them a month ago, so we know we can beat them. We’re going to aim for performances like that.
United put in their best performance of the season in a 2-1 win at the Etihad before Christmas
‘Every game lives its own life. That’s the Manchester United we want to see, but we can improve on that one.’
Across town, Guardiola declared he would never take the United job under any circumstances before striking a more conciliatory note about his rivals.
‘I have incredible respect for this club and I’m sure, sooner or later, they will be back in the position to fight for the title,’ he said.
‘It is not always that one team are going to win all the time over a decade. It happened many years ago under Sir Alex. Now they are struggling a little bit, but they will be back. I didn’t come here just to beat United or be in front of them. That was not the target.
‘We’ve beaten them more times than we’ve lost and, especially in the regular season, we’ve beaten them all the time, so that is important.’
Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial scored in a devastating counter-attacking display
Guardiola also spoke about the process Solskjaer has undertaken at Old Trafford.
‘He is starting to see what he wants from his team,’ he said. ‘It is not easy to take over a big club always demanding to be champions in all competitions. Every manager needs time.’
Guardiola could rest senior players while Solskjaer will wait as long as possible before deciding on his team.
Harry Maguire limped away from the Wolves game while Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard missed out through illness.
‘I’m going to give them as much time as I can,’ said Solskjaer.