Manchester City travelled to the West Midlands to take on Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup. Pep Guardiola got the opportunity to play some his squad players in the league cup and opted for a 4-3-3 formation against the Foxes. The match began with the Citizens on the front-foot and their early dominance paid off in the 26th minute when Bernardo Silva scored the opening goal of the game. The Manchester club went into half-time 1-0 up but was subject to a strong Leicester City effort after the break. The Foxes called upon a few of their star players from the bench in the form of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez early in the second half and put up a much-improved showing. And all of their efforts reaped rewards in injury-time when super sub, Demarai Gray earned a crucial spot-kick which Jamie Vardy converted from the spot.
Both teams struggled to threaten in extra-time and the result went down to penalties. Vardy and Mahrez missed their penalties to hand the Blues of Manchester a route into the semi-finals of the competition.
Let’s see how each Manchester City player fared on the night.
GK: Claudio Bravo – 9/10
He did his job when called upon and looked reliable at the back. The Chilean couldn’t save the Jamie Vardy penalty in injury-time but he came back to be City’s saviour in the penalty shoot-out with two crucial saves.
RB: Danilo – 6/10
The Brazilian put in a good shift at right-back and did the little things right.
CB: Oluwatosin Adarabioyo – 6/10
The 20-year-old defender is getting stronger with each match. He played for 120 minutes and did well at the heart of the City defence.
CB: Eliaquim Mangala – 6/10
The French defender was a rock at the back for the Citizens but unfortunately suffered a facial injury in the last 15 minutes of the game which saw him get subbed off.
LB: Alexander Zinchenko – 7/10
He really impressed with his tireless running down the left flank for the whole duration of the game. He performed well while going forward and was a threat to the Leicester City defence. The Ukranian full-back is definitely a prospect to look out for!
CM: İlkay Gündoğan – 6/10
He did well to provide the assist for the Manchester City’s opening goal but faded as the match went on.
CM: Yaya Toure – 5/10
The Manchester City captain was slow at times in the City midfield and really struggled to cope with the pressure of playing for 120 minutes.
CM: Phil Foden – 6/10
The youngster was bright at times, making late forward runs from the City midfield. He did well to link up play in the final third.
RM: Bernardo Silva – 8.5/10
The Portuguese winger was by far the best player on the pitch. He was a constant threat to the Foxes’ backline and scored the opening goal. His display in extra time also caught the eye with his tireless runs on the right flank.
ST: Gabriel Jesus – 5/10
The Brazilian forward huffed and puffed but couldn’t score the goal to decide the tie. He had a difficult 120 minutes against the superb Harry Maguire.
LM: Brahim Diaz – 6/10
He threatened with his trickery out wide on the left flank and put in a good shift for the Foxes before being substituted.
Substitutes:
CB: Kyle Walker – 4/10
He was at fault for giving away the penalty in injury time which allowed Leicester back in the game. A poor performance from the veteran full-back.
LM: Lukas Nmecha – 5/10
He tried his best in extra-time but couldn’t trouble the Leicester defence. However, he calmly slotted home a spot-kick in the shootout which helped his team progress to the semi-finals.
CM: Ayotomiwa Dele-Bashiru – 6/10
He had a few bright moments in extra time but couldn’t come up with a goal that would decide the tie.
