by Pep Guardiola admits Manchester City “has no chance” of a derby victory against Manchester United if they repeat the dismal spectacle that led to their Carabao Cup elimination at the hands of embattled Southampton.
City failed to attempt a field goal as they slipped into a shocking 2-0 comeback in the quarterfinals at St Mary’s on Wednesday evening.
The Premier League champions are returning to action at Old Trafford at Saturday lunchtime, and manager Guardiola knows a big improvement is needed.
“Every game is different, different competition,” he said, looking at the United game.
But of course, if we perform like this, we won’t stand a chance.
“We know exactly what we need to do to play better, so we will try to do that.”
Halftime goals from Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo doomed the eight-time League Cup winners to an unexpected defeat on the south coast.
City were toothless offensively and even the introduction of substitutes Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland in the second half failed to spark a fight.
Captain Ilkay Gundogan wasted the visitors’ best luck with a poor halftime performance, which proved fatal to the club’s hopes for advancement.
The German midfielder believes disappointment could serve as a “wake-up call at the right time” as City continue to chase league leaders Arsenal.
“There is no room for mistakes or poor performance,” Gündoğan said on the club’s website.
“Hopefully, if there’s one good thing we can take out of this game, it’s a wake-up call at the right time.
“While it’s sad and disappointing to get out of this trophy, hopefully we can finally go back in a few weeks and get something good out of this game at least.”
Southampton manager Nathan Jones celebrates the biggest result of his short tenure.
The Welsh player believes the victory, which marked a two-leg semi-final with Newcastle, provides optimism for the future as he turns his attention back to the high-level relegation battle.
“City is one of the best sides in the world with the most innovative manager of all time,” said Jones, who had suffered four consecutive league defeats ahead of Saturday’s visit to his Everton challengers.
We knew we had to do our best, but we showed from minute one to 96.5 minutes that we could be a very good Premier League team.
“I am a born-again Christian, so I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and he gives me faith every day. You just have to believe in what you’re doing.”
When asked if you’ll face the Magpies next, Jones said: “The semi-finals will be tough, tough, tough; It won’t be any harder than playing in Man City. This is a nice feeling.”
