• Premier League

City have been better than United for years, says Kolarov

ESPN staff
October 28, 2014
Aleksandar Kolarov is not pleased with Manuel Pellegrini's rotation policy © Getty Images
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Aleksandar Kolarov believes Manchester City have been better than Manchester United for the last five or six years.

The Premier League champions host their local rivals on Sunday as they look to repeat last season's derby successes, when they won 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium and 3-0 at Old Trafford.

"It is a great game to watch or play in," Kolarov told TalkSport. "Every player in the world would like to play [in] this game. United has a great history but in the last five or six years, I think we have been superior to them."

City have emerged victorious in six of the nine derbies since April 2011 and have won the league in two of the past three seasons, finishing 22 points ahead of United in the 2013-14 campaign.

But those are the only two occasions in the Premier League when City have finished above United in the table while, since 2008, the red half of Manchester has been able to celebrate nine derby wins and the blue half just seven.

While City were Manchester's dominant force last season, Kolarov is adamant they cannot afford to get complacent, especially after United's expensive overhaul.

New manager Louis van Gaal spent £152 million on six players, breaking the British transfer record to bring in Angel Di Maria, and Kolarov expects them to improve this year.

He added: "United is always United, a great club with a great history and if you don't respect them a lot they are going to beat you. They change a lot of players and are in progression now.

"They have changed the manager and bought a lot of great players and I think they can do a good season in the Premier League. Van Gaal has a lot of experience. They have bought some great players so it is up to them to do their best."

Kolarov has only started seven of City's 14 games in all competitions this season as manager Manuel Pellegrini continues to alternate between the Serbian and Gael Clichy at left-back.

And he said: "On a personal level, I don't like the rotation [policy] but it is the manager's choice and I give 100 percent when I am playing."

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