Pep Guardiola hailed Ederson as “an extraordinary keeper” despite his Manchester derby horror show.
The Manchester City goalkeeper made two horrendous errors to hand Manchester United their first home league victory over their local rivals in nearly five years.
The Brazil stopper allowed an Anthony Martial shot to sneak under his hand for the first and then, late in the game, threw the ball straight to Scott McTominay , who fired it back past him to seal the three points.
Ederson was brought in because he combined good shot-stopping with exceptional footwork, making him an excellent fit for Guardiola’s Blues team, as he often becomes an 11 outfield player.
Both aspects of his game were questioned in the defeat – but Guardiola wrote it off as part of the game.
“He is an extraordinary keeper. Next time he is going to be better,” said the City manager.
And he made it plain that the keeper retains his faith, with an Etihad Stadium showdown with Real Madrid in the Champions League just nine days away.
“He is an extraordinary player in the build-up, the saves ... sometimes it happens. He saved one or two.”
His defence of the keeper was reminiscent of his backing for Claudio Bravo, when the Chile keeper marked his debut by dropping the ball at the feet of Zlatan Ibrahimovic as City won at Old Trafford in 2016.
On that day, he described Bravo’s debut as one of the best he had seen, even though the Chile keeper had also been lucky to avoid a red card for a rash challenge on Wayne Rooney.
