Manchester City opened the last game of their Carabao Cup’s round of 16 match against Southampton in style and closed it in style. A beautiful header from Nicholas Otamendi in the 20th minute had put Manchester City in the lead and a brilliant closer from Sergio Aguero sealed it. The match had ended in 3-1 in favour of Manchester City. City, unbeaten in nearly three years in the League Cup are clear favourites with the most trusted online casino to win it again this season. With a League One and League Two side in the quarter-final draw, City should be planning another trip to Wembley.
Maybe Southampton fans should have realized sooner that Pep Guardiola really meant business when he decided to start two dealy strikers – Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus against them. One out of the two could have been a real threat for Southampton but the two together was always going to be a problem for any side to play against.
For Southampton who had just come from a weekend of 9-0 trashing from Leicester City, their game today seems to be a reflection of what the Leicester loss has on the team. They looked like a scared side, afraid to take risks. Manchester City, on the other hand, were aggressive, taking control of the game and getting things done.
In his 4-3-3 formation, Pep Guardiola had played 18-year-old Tommy Doyle in his first senior debut, a move which has proven to work for Manchester City.
The Manchester City fans also did not miss the opportunity to tease Southampton for the humiliating loss over the weekend. They had continued chanting “We want 10”.
Tommy Doyle and his impact on the game
Doyle was operating in the centre of the middle three, obviously asked by his manager to play the holding role. The No 69 spoiled a tidy start by spraying a corner from the left straight out during an opening passage in which Saints were pinned back.
Doyle’s job was to continue pressing the opponents knowing fully well that a mistake would then happen. This did pay off for Manchester City as it led to a corner kick that as finely taken by Doyle to give Nicholas Otamendi the first goal.
Verdict
It was surprising to see Southampton struggle for a win again Manchester City but guess that is to be expected from a team like Manchester United, with a good form. Apart from that, it was also funny to see Pep Guardiola encouraging his players to move the ball forward at pace rather than sluggishly and sideways.
Manchester City has been going through a series of injury setbacks in the past week but the City youngster stepped up and looks like he might be getting a chance to play more often.
All we saw from Southampton was a team with no intent for anything
In the match that had helped City through to the quarter-finals, all Southampton showed was to be able to minimize the goals that would have been tripping in.
