Manchester City scored six past Manchester United for the second time this season in the Premier League 2, yet their head coach was more pleased with the discipline and mentality they showed than the goals they scored.
After racing into a two-goal lead within 15 minutes, City were boosted by a red card for United defender Sonny Aljofree on Saturday and a quick third that killed the contest. United would try and limit the goals against them from that point, bringing on 36-year-old coach Tom Huddlestone, and the second half was a much slower affair.
Still, City remained patient and added three more late on to complete their rout, and head coach Brian Barry-Murphy chose to focus on the mental strength of his side.
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City had beaten United 6-1 in the reverse fixture - a scoreline Barry-Murphy felt gave a false impression on the game - and he praised his players for learning the lessons from that game and also their recent UEFA Youth League defeat at Hajduk Split.
"Despite outside perception I think we had a really healthy respect for the opposition," Barry-Murphy told MEN Sport. "We were clear we felt the scoreline in the corresponding fixture was a little misleading because it was tough for long spells. We have very dangerous players who can score goals late in the game when it became stretched and it did.
"So we were conscious of that and you saw how much we respected the opponents by how we played in the first half. The game obviously changed significantly when they had a man sent off. Before that our play was exceptional.
"We had some moments out of possession that we found difficult in the first game. It's normal, the opponents have quality. It was good for us to see that and how we've learned from that and understood it. In the first game we were a little careless in some actions defensively. I was keen to see how the players adapted to that and they reacted very well.
"It's very easy to presume the game will look the same based on the scoreline but every game is different. United will have prepared for us in a very detailed manner, players overcame that today which is an integral part of their learning."
In particular, Barry-Murphy praised the discipline of the players to react to the game-changing red card, and making sure the tactic of getting wingers to the byline to cross for players in the centre was brutally effective.
"There's a perception that the game will naturally follow a path of dominating the game, creating chances, scoring. It doesn't work like that," he said of the red card. "It's understanding how the nature of the game can change, we had to be really patient and precise. I thought we were, and for the players to get their reward late in the game after doing that and being so disciplined was really rewarding.
"[The similar goals are] probably something we're conscious has to get better because we have games it works really well but also games where the opponents do something different. We couldn't quite find the solutions in Croatia and we took a lot of things in that game that we have to do better this week and every week going forward.
"Those things, we speak in the moment about how priceless they are. The proof of the pudding is how we go back to the training ground and work on these actions that can make us even better the next time we face this. The players seem to be taking that on board, there were definitely signs of that today."
And Barry-Murphy also singled out opening goalscorer Micah Hamilton for his training performances this week, who justified his selection ahead of top goalscorer Carlos Borges.
He said: "Today was more about Micah and his return from injury and showing his quality for as long as he could. I'm delighted for Micah on a personal level, he's had a few setbacks on and off the pitch, in the gym and in games. There were times this season where it really looked as if he wouldn't play but to see him come back in the team and perform so well gives us that impetus to make sure he can kick on.
"He's a highly talented player and had some unique qualities that are amazing to watch. To demonstrate them he has to be in the physical condition he can. At the moment he's striving to get there, but this week in training he was at such a high level I had no option to play him. It was that simple."
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