Pep Guardiola’s 55th birthday fell on Sunday. It may not be his happiest. The present could come in the form of Marc Guehi, when he signs. But if Guardiola’s mood may be altered by perhaps the most comprehensive derby defeat he has suffered in almost a decade in Manchester, he might have been facing another manager to celebrate a birthday in January. A year earlier, Ruben Amorim remarked that, after two months at Manchester United, he felt 50, not 40.
Two weeks after leaving, maybe Amorim is fresher-faced and youthful again. But he did win his first Manchester derby in charge. So, 13 months later, did Michael Carrick. Yet a bad day for Guardiola could also be seen as a similarly damaging one for Amorim.
