Kevin De Bruyne says he "can’t comprehend" how Manchester City contrived to lose 1-0 to Manchester United on Wednesday night – but believes nobody will care as long as they win the Carabao Cup.
“I can’t really comprehend how we lost this game,” De Bruyne told Sky Sports.
“For me, United didn’t even have one chance today. In [attack] we were way too wasteful today.
“I think we have to learn from this but in the end, it’s good that we are going to the final.”
The result on the night meant United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became the first manager to beat Pep Guardiola’s City twice at the Etihad Stadium.
However, while United took great heart from their 2-1 Premier League win back in December, their second win there this season eventually counted for nothing.
United only had two shots on target in 90 minutes, one of which was Matic’s bolt from the blue.
“I think we got sloppy,” De Bruyne added.
“The goal is...we didn’t clear the lines very well and out of nothing they just scored.
“I think you can tell me if United had one more chance in the game; even at the end they didn’t do anything.
“But yeah, with a one-all score they only need one chance to make a goal but, in the end, we fought when we had to. We need to learn from the mistakes.”
Asked if the defeat on the night spoiled the achievement of reaching the final, De Bruyne was blunt.
“No, of course not,” he replied.
“If you win the final, nobody will talk about this game. It’s not nice and we should have done better, but it’s the way it goes sometimes.”