Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said his side "needed to lose" after their 2-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday ended a 28-game unbeaten run that stretched back to April.
As City had already confirmed top spot in their group, the defeat mattered little, and Guardiola said the focus had already moved to Sunday's derby against Manchester United at Old Trafford, per David Anderson in the Mirror:
"When I felt we needed to lose, it was for the players and for the club because in the media people say things when you win and you can forget things. We came here when our job was done in the Champions League. Now we are going to see how we react on Sunday. But I saw how we reacted after we went 2-0 down here and we passed it well. The world will not finish on Sunday no matter happens and now we will prepare for that game."
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