Manchester United vs. Manchester City: Score, Reaction from 2016 EFL Cup Match

Manchester United progressed to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup on Wednesday at the expense of rivals and holders Manchester City, whom they beat 1-0 at Old Trafford.

Juan Mata netted the decisive goal shortly after half-time in an underwhelming game featuring a much-changed City side.

The visitors enjoyed a brighter start than the hosts and could have gone ahead within two minutes, but Kelechi Iheanacho flashed his early header off-target after connecting with a teasing Jesus Navas cross.

City could have had a penalty, too, when Michael Carrick clipped Aleix Garcia's heels in the area, but referee Mike Dean was unconvinced.

With Carrick lining up alongside Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera in midfield, United were able to put a string of passes together and build some possession, but the Red Devils were often let down by some loose play in the final third. Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News noticed another problem:

When United worked their way into promising positions, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rashford had their efforts blocked.

The hosts' first clear-cut chance came within minutes of the restart, when Ibrahimovic fed Pogba through on the left, but goalkeeper Willy Caballero turned the Frenchman's shot onto the post.

Rattling the woodwork brought United to life, and Pogba curled another effort narrowly wide before Caballero had to beat away a volleyed cross from Mata. The Spaniard broke the deadlock soon after when a square ball from Ibrahimovic ran through to him and he coolly fired home at the near post, via Sky Football:

The Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst noted the Red Devils' improvement:

Ibrahimovic should have made it 2-0 when Rashford broke down the left and delivered a magnificent cross, but the Swede failed to make a proper connection with the ball.

His miss did not prove costly, however, as United successfully held on to their lead. Morgan Schneiderlin came on to shore up the Red Devils' midfield, while City brought on Sergio Aguero to no avail as the Sky Blues struggled to threaten the hosts.

After Sunday's 4-0 defeat to Chelsea, Wednesday's result will come as a much-needed confidence boost for United, who will hope to get back to winning ways in the Premier League at home against Burnley on Saturday.

City are winless in six matches, which does not bode well for Saturday's trip to West Bromwich Albion before a crucial UEFA Champions League tie with Barcelona, though they rested many of their key players on Wednesday.

Post-Match Reaction

After the final whistle, Mourinho headed to the Stretford End to apologise to the Old Trafford faithful, per Telegraph Football:

The Special One also praised the fans' support following the Chelsea defeat while speaking to MUTV:

Meanwhile, City boss Pep Guardiola vowed that his team would get better following their poor run of form, per Tom Williams of Agence France-Presse:

"I am so proud of our performance," he said, per Metro's Chris Winterburn. "Congratulations to United. I'm proud of the young players."

Per the same source, Guardiola added: "Our last pass had to be more clinical. We competed well, but against United, it is always difficult. They did good."