“We stopped training after ten minutes”, Kevin De Bruyne reveals Manchester City’s unusual preparation for the derby

An obvious class difference. Last weekend, the Manchester derby turned into a demonstration for the Red Devils. If the score of 0-2 is not what can be called a correction, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have never found the loophole to worry Manchester City who outrageously dominated their opponent in the game.

Indeed, Pep Guardiola’s men made 753 passes throughout the game, the highest total for a team against Manchester United since the 2003-2004 season. The Citizens also ended the game with 68 percent possession of the ball.

However, preparation for the match was not easy for the Skyblues. On Play Sports, Kevin De Bruyne revealed that Pep Guardiola has no idea how Manchester United are going to play: “Usually the day before the game we practice tactically, based on the opponent’s play”, started the Red Devil.

“But before the game against United, Pep said: ‘We don’t know how they’re going to play. We’ll see,’ and we stopped training after about ten minutes.”, continued De Bruyne who himself found color in the derby after a few more delicate weeks, “Most of the time, Pep knows how the opponent is going to play. This time around he wasn’t, so he didn’t know what to do.”

But ultimately, this abbreviated preparation did not prevent the Skyblues from outclassing their advesaries: “We did what we do all the time, but we didn’t know if they were going to play five behind, or four. With a diamond in the middle, or three on the attacking front …”