There were handshakes, smiles, even an embrace, in the first two head-to-heads between Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho in English football.
With the pressure and tension ramped up a notch for the third Manchester derby of the season, will the two coaching adversaries be able to retain their new-found cordiality on ThursdayIJ
"This is about the clubs, the teams; this is about the positions at the end of the season," Mourinho, the United manager, said ahead of the Premier league match at City's Etihad Stadium. "This is not about myself and Guardiola."
So far, it's Guardiola 1, Mourinho 1. Guardiola had arguably the more important victory, 2-1 at Old Trafford in the league on Sept. 10 when his City team produced a dazzling first-half performance at Old Trafford in the midst of a 10-match winning start to the season. Mourinho got his own back six weeks later when United beat City 1-0 in the fourth round of the English league Cup.
On both occasions, in the build-up and during the game, there was no sign of the bitterness and animosity that marked their meetings in Spanish soccer from 2010-12 when in charge of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Indeed, they seemed to make a point of showing respect for one another, dispensing with any mind games pre-match and being courteous in the technical area in the heat of battle.
The stakes will be higher on Thursday, though, with the teams separated by one point and one place with five league games left. City, in fourth place, and United, in fifth place, might finish the season fighting for one Champions league qualification spot.
One flashpoint in a game that is too close to call, and the old tensions between the two managers could yet resurface.
Ander Herrera wasn't downplaying the significance of this latest derby. "It is going to be the game of the season," the United midfielder said with relish.
Mourinho has won just two of his last 11 meetings with Guardiola's teams, and four of 18 in total. He might just have the edge this time round, with United having finally reeled in the top four after a 23-match unbeaten run in the league dating back to a 4-0 loss at Chelsea on Oct. 23. If United avoids defeat, it will equal the club's longest unbeaten top-flight run in a single season (24 matches in the 2010-11 season).
Costa ends goal drought
lONDON: Diego Costa ended a seven-game goal drought in style to help Chelsea open up a seven-point lead in the Premier league with a 4-2 victory over Southampton on Tuesday.
The second-half double halted a barren run that began shortly after a reported dispute at the club as Costa was linked with a move to the financially-flush Chinese Super league. Even as the goals dried up and the uncertainty about Costa's future persisted, manager Antonio Conte never doubted his striker's ability to make an impact in the title run-in. "For the forward it's very important to score ... because the goal is your life," Conte said. "But for me I always said that I'm very pleased for his commitment, for his work for the team, because he's always working for the team."
Costa was heavily involved as early as the fifth minute at Stamford Bridge when he set up Eden Hazard's opener. After Gary Cahill restored Chelsea's lead, Costa scored two contrasting goals in the second half. The striker's 50th Premier league goal was a header from Cesc Fabregas' cross and his next goal was the culmination of a mazy run through the defense that saw him exchange passes with Hazard and Pedro Rodriguez.
Those goals helped the league leaders nudge closer to regaining the trophy from leicester, having had their advantage trimmed in recent weeks by Tottenham. Second-place Tottenham is now on the back foot as it prepares to play Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
But one potential obstacle to Chelsea's winning the title on the five-match final stretch remains the leaky defense that had been so sturdy earlier in the season. Both Southampton goals came from former Chelsea players, with Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand making it 12 league games since Conte's side kept a clean sheet.
Romeu's canceled out Hazard's opener. Manolo Gabbiadini was left unmarked to bring down James Ward-Prowse's corner at the far post and strike at Thibaut Courtois. The goalkeeper parried the shot but the ball fell to Romeu for a simple tap-in. Chelsea was already 4-1 in front when Bertrand rose above Cahill to head in a cross from Cedric Soares.
"When you keep a clean sheet, it's a great achievement for your team," Conte said. "I think this situation we have to improve. We have to continue to work and try to improve our mistakes."
And yet the west london club seemed so relaxed about its advantage that captain John Terry had been brought on for his first league appearance since November and first since announcing he would be leaving at the end of the season.
It's likely that one of Terry's last acts of a 22-year association with Chelsea will be to lift the Premier league trophy. There could also be an FA Cup to collect if Arsenal can be overcome in the final. Conte gambled against Tottenham in Saturday's semifinal by starting without Costa and Hazard. It paid off at Wembley and the effects were felt by Southampton as the refreshed duo unsettled the Southampton defense.