JUAN MATA’S second-half strike earned Manchester United a 1-0 win over Manchester City on Wednesday as Jose Mourinho’s side bounced back to reach the English Football League Cup quarterfinals.

    Humiliated 4-0 by Mourinho’s former club Chelsea at the weekend, United got back to winning ways and claimed a measure of revenge for their 2-1 defeat by Pep Guardiola’s City in last month’s league derby.

    The result at Old Trafford gave Mourinho only his third victory in 13 encounters with Guardiola.

    City had not won in three league games and got hammered 4-0 in its last Champions League outing against Barcelona. United had also not won in three in the league — scoring just once in that stretch — and claimed victory in just one of its last six games.

    Yet they took different approaches to this fourth-round clash, with 16 teams remaining in the tournament. United appeared pretty much at full strength, with only the pine-riding Michael Carrick sprinkled into the usual blend of regulars. After disheveling performances against Liverpool (0-0) and Chelsea (0-4), Mourinho figured he’d better get the win.

    City, however, fielded a distinctly reserve team. For the building pressure, Guardiola wasn’t going to bend and treat this tournament as anything more than what it is to most: a third-tier event best utilized to blood inexperienced players. He used a blend of reserves, rotation players and young talent.

    Mourinho was rewarded for investing more of his first team’s precious energy with a 1-0 win, thanks to a Juan Mata strike early in the second half.

    In just the second minute, City fired off a warning shot. Jesus Navas whipped a cross onto the head of Kelechi Iheanacho, but the young Nigerian got his header all wrong.

    Late on in an otherwise incident-free half, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s shot was blocked at the last moment.

    But four minutes into the second act, United began to convert its slight edge in the run of play into chances. Zlatan fed Paul Pogba on the run, but the Frenchman’s near-post finish was tipped onto the woodwork by goalkeeper Willy Caballero — whose name, it’s important for you to know, translates either to William The Gentleman or Bill The Knight.

    Then, in the 54th minute, Zlatan squared the ball from the byline. Ander Herrera collided with Fernando, sending both of them crashing down, but the ball rolled to Mata, who scored convincingly.

    Not much else of note happened. A Zlatan backheel almost played in Marcus Rashford, who just wasn’t having his day.

    And 18-year-old Pablo Maffeo diffused a United breakaway when he cut out Rashford’s low cross to Pogba in front of an open goal after tracking him almost the entire length of the field.

    The relief was apparent on Mourinho’s face in his postmatch handshake with Guardiola — which was once all drama but is now something of a non-event.

    The truth is that Mourinho is working with a shorter rope than Guardiola, whose appointment was years in coming at Man City, and who will be given time to build, if he even needs it. (SD-Agencies)