Kyle Walker has stoked fires ahead of the Manchester derby insisting United’s controversial win last January was the key to City chasing down the treble. United beat City 2-1 at Old Trafford in January, the winner scored by Marcus Rashford despite Bruno Fernandes appearing to have interfered with play from an offside position.
But Walker insists that result proved the tipping point for furious Guardiola who launched his “happy flowers” rant after a 4-2 win over Tottenham five days later, complaining about complacency creeping in at the club.
And the result, which Walker attributes directly to that derby defeat, was that City went on the charge, staying unbeaten until they had wrapped up the title, beat Erik ten Hag’s side to the FA Cup final and then Inter Milan to match their treble history from 1999.
“We lost at Old Trafford last season and the luck didn’t go in our favour but we bounced back from that and did what we did – we went on to win the treble,” said Walker. “Yes this game means a lot of course, but it’s part of a bigger picture and ultimately that is what matters. It will help us win the Premier League again and we don’t need to think beyond that.”
Both sides warmed up for this mouthwatering clash with wins in the Champions League, United edging Copenhagen to keep their hopes alive and City teeing up early qualification with a third straight group victory against Swiss side Young Boys.
Walker believes City are firing on most of their cylinders but still have room for improvement, not least at the back where they have kept just three clean sheets in 15 games in all competitions.
“It’s early in the season and we’re competing towards the top of the Premier League and have won three from three in the Champions League,” he said. “We’re scoring the goals and that’s what wins you games.
“But of course, there’ll be tight games where keeping a clean sheet might be the difference between winning or not and so obviously we want to make sure we’re getting more of them. I think the lads are playing well at both ends of the pitch right now and the results show that.”
City’s have not shut out a side since beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 at home on September 23 but they face a United side who are the only top half side with a negative goal difference and are struggling to find the net.
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Walker warned against City taking their hosts lightly insisting that they have goal threats throughout their side, not least of which his England colleague Marcus Rashford.
Rashford has just one goal for United this season but scored against Italy for England to double his tally for the season and Walker believes big occasions bring out the best in him.
“Marcus has shown over the years that he’s the sort of player who can create problems for any side if they don’t match him,” said Walker. “He’s been an important for both United and England since he was a teenager because of the threat he offers to any team he’s in. He’s got a lot of different qualities and we know he can be dangerous at the weekend.”
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