Kevin De Bruyne taunted Manchester United after their derby thrashing by claiming they lacked the stamina to compete with Guardiola’s side.
Man City secured a 4-1 win, with De Bruyne scoring a brace and setting up another as City took a huge step towards retaining the league title, opening up a six-point lead over Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Interim United manager Ralf Rangnick has tried to implement a high-pressing style since taking charge, similar to Guardiola at City and Liverpool.
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But De Bruyne suggested United players do not have the required energy and fitness levels to sustain such the approach for 90 minutes, in a damning assessment of their squad.
“When you play a pressing style, it’s very hard to adjust to it, so maybe it seemed like they did give up a little,” said De Bruyne.
“It’s very hard to do it for 90 minutes as a team. “I was watching [from the bench] the last 10 minutes, it felt like they were a little bit out, so the spaces got a bit bigger.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that they gave up – it’s hard to say that. “It might have looked comfortable, but it’s hard work.
“United set up more pressing, they did it differently, but in the second-half we found the spaces. We learned from our mistakes in the first half.”
City’s game against Liverpool at the Etihad on April 10 is shaping up to be a title decider, with the winners in huge position to be champions.
“Yeah it could be, but it’s so far away,” said De Bruyne. “There’s a lot of important games in between. “A lot can change between now and then. We can lose games or they can.
“So I’m not necessarily watching out now for that game. We push each other to be the best version we can be.
“All we can do as a team and as individuals is try to win every game. Hopefully in the end we’ll win it, but there’s still a long way to go.”
