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Guardiola reveals how Man City controlled Ronaldo in Manchester derby

Cristiano Ronaldo
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The Manchester City boss believes his side have managed to limit the movements of Ronaldo by not giving away the possession.

Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by their City rivals on Saturday. The Citizens controlled the entire game, with Cristiano Ronaldo making Man United’s only shot on target in the first half.

Unlike the Red Devils’ recent games, Ronaldo was unable to save Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. The Portuguese had the fewest touches out of any player who started the match.

In an interview after the game, Man City boss Pep Guardiola explained how his side limited Ronaldo’s chances.

“Let me be gentle. I can never analyse or judge the opponents and what they have done.

“The games have been quite similar in previous seasons when they beat us.

“They wait behind and ambush us on counter attack – they did not control those games.

“They waited, maybe because they respect us, which is a big compliment for us,

“But we did a good game. Rodri was excellent as were [Ilkay] Gundogan and Bernardo [Silva], and we wanted the ball.

“That’s the only way to control the transitions. I know how big talented players like Cristiano are, they suffer when they don’t have the ball. We wanted that.”

Ronaldo will join Portugal for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Ireland and Serbia.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner will then return to Manchester for his side’s Premier League battle against Watford on November 20.

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