London: Manchester City’s fans may have been left covering their eyes at the hair-raising antics of their new goalkeeper in their Manchester derby triumph but manager Pep Guardiola offered a hearty “bravo” to Claudio Bravo on Saturday.

On a splendid afternoon for Guardiola, whose side earned a deserved 2-1 win at the home of his great rival Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, the only cloud on the sky blue horizon for the City faithful may have been Bravo’s erratic ways.

The man bought from Barcelona to replace their beloved Joe Hart because Guardiola believes he is a far superior passer from the back may have had some fans musing ‘never mind his feet, what about his hands?’ as Bravo made a howler that could have ruined their afternoon.

City were 2-0 up and utterly dominant when the Chilean came out to collect a routine free kick from the right and dropped the ball on the edge of the box into the path of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who gratefully volleyed home.

The game’s complexion changed as rapidly as Bravo’s composure seemed to disintegrate as the 33-year-old made numerous errors, including a rash challenge on Wayne Rooney that should have earned him a red card and United a penalty.

Mourinho was adamant that referee Mark Clattenburg had blundered in not punishing the studs-up lunge but while the debate over Bravo’s performance swirled on, Guardiola was blind to any suggestion of frailty.

“What Claudio did was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Explaining his delight at how Bravo had continued persevering with his passing game even when it seemed to put him into difficulty, Guardiola said: “I like goalkeepers to play in front.

“After that (United) goal, he continued playing in our build-up, playing long balls and coming out to pick it up,” the Spaniard added.

“In football, it’s about how you react to mistakes. It shows character. He continued playing. It means a lot.” If Bravo’s approach gives City’s faithful palpitations, they had better get used to it.

“If you pass the ball from the back, it can be too risky; if you lose the ball they will score but you can control the game,” Guardiola said.

“Until my last day in England I will try to play with the ball as much as possible. I know it’s impossible for 90 minutes but I’m sorry, I will not negotiate that.” He will have nothing to apologise for if City keep playing the way they did for the first 40 exhilarating minutes when it all rather resembled his old Barcelona side unpicking Mourinho’s Real Madrid in their feuding heyday.

“Today we made a lesson with the ball,” Guardiola said Despite Bravo’s struggle, it was a familiarly sobering lesson for his old adversary Mourinho, who now trails 3-8 in their personal duel.

— Reuters