Jose Mourinho brands Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City “lucky” after United have penalty shout turned down

Jose Mourinho branded Manchester City “lucky” – as Pep Guardiola’s side opened up a commanding 11-point lead in the title race.

Mourinho was left seething at ref Michael Oliver’s failure to award United a penalty when Ander Herrera went down under a challenge from Nicolas Otamendi with 11 minutes left but was booked for diving.

Goals from David Silva and Nicolas Otamendi gave City victory over United, who scored through Marcus Rashford but were well-beaten as Guardiola’s side dominated the game, winning for the second season running at Old Trafford.

But Mourinho was left fuming at being denied a spot-kick, as City made it a record 14 straight Premier League wins in a single season and ended United’s 40-game unbeaten run at home.

“I feel sorry for Michael Oliver, because he had a very good match but made an important mistake,” said Mourinho.

“The result was made with a big penalty not given. That would have been 2-2 with 10 minutes to go. Michael was unlucky because it was a clear penalty.

“City are a very good team but I think they’re lucky. They are protected by the luck, and the gods of football are behind them. They have all these decisions in their favour.

“We can speak about anything you want, we can bring any football theory, you can bring the stats, you can bring the ball possession, you can bring everything you want, but like last season it’s a huge penalty in a crucial moment of the game.”