José Mourinho all but admitted defeat in the Premier League title race after watching Manchester United fall 11 points behind a Manchester City team he described as being "protected by the luck" and helped on their http://www.authenticnikefalconshop.com/devondre-campbell-jersey-for-sale-c-11.html way to the championship because "the gods of football are behind them".
Mourinho's backhanded compliments came after a Womens Taywan Taylor Jersey 2-1 victory for Pep Guardiola's side at Old Trafford that left the United manager complaining at length that Ander Herrera should have been awarded a penalty in the second-half incident that led to the midfielder being booked for diving.
Guardiola's view was that it was still too early for him to say the same but City have now won 14 league fixtures in a row and the victorious manager, praising his team for taking on the Barcelona approach of football, dismissed Mourinho's complaints about the penalty incident. It was, according to the City manager, just more of the usual from Mourinho and something to which he was wholly accustomed from their time as rival managers in Spain.
"We won because we were better in every department," Guardiola said. "Last season it was the same – we won here and it [for Mourinho] was the referee. Today as well. Yesterday he spoke about the referee. We are an honest team. When a team has the courage to have 65 to 70 or 75% ball-possession it is because it wants to try to play and that is what we have done. We are clear, we are open and we want to attack.
"People said we could not play this way in England. They said we couldn't play the way we did in Barcelona but it is possible and we did it. Always I believed we could do it. That's why football is so beautiful.
"I'm happy to go to Stamford Bridge http://www.authenticislanderstore.com/brad-richards-jersey_c-462.html and now Old Trafford and to beat them in this way. But we are still in December. If we have 11 points http://www.authenticredsox.com/Authentic-David-Price-Jersey [as a lead] when we play the second derby in April then maybe I will tell you that we have the title.
Guardiola, Markus Golden Jersey the former Barcelona Authentic Matt Slauson Jersey head coach, also responded to Mourinho's pre-match remarks that City players can be guilty of diving – "It's not true that my players go down easily, that is not an argument I believe" – and promised to keep wearing his yellow ribbon in support of the two Catalan politicians who were jailed during the region's fight for independence last month.