Manchester City advanced to the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday in a victory away to Huddersfield Town.
Pep Guardiola rotated his side from last time out in their draw against Arsenal. The eight-time winners have not made a Carabao Cup final since 2021 when they defeated Tottenham Hotspur. The competition originally served as an opportunity to build a culture of lifting trophies, but has since fallen by the wayside in recent years.
Huddersfield looked to set up in a low block and spring on the counter early as City imposed their possession-heavy style. Divine Mukasa, an 18-year-old academy graduate, made his senior debut up top leading the line in place of Erling Haaland. Still, City had Oscar Bobb, Savinho and Phil Foden in attack to put the opposition under pressure.
Foden opened the scoring in the 18th minute after a swift half-turn and one-two connection with Mukasa. The England star fired low and across his body to beat Lee Nicholls at his far post. City continued to dominate the half going into the tunnel with 82% possession, but just the one goal separated the two sides.
Guardiola kept his starting lineup on the pitch for the start of the second half looking to put some distance to Huddersfield. Nico O’Reilly had a golden opportunity to do so in the 53rd minute finding himself through on goal, but Nicholls did well to read an attempted chip shot. Mukasa also came close to finding a goal in the 60th minute, but his tame effort was comfortably saved.
Savinho finally doubled the City lead 75 minutes to put the tie to bed. His left-footed strike ricocheted off the goalkeeper and the underside of the crossbar. Foden got credit for the assist capping off a player of the match performance.
All in all, a comfortable day at the office for Manchester City as they advance to the fourth round.
Man City Player Ratings vs. Huddersfield (4-1-4-1)
Subs not used: Gianluigi Donnarumma GK), Kaden Braithwaite, Rúben Dias, Stephen Mfuni, Bernardo Silva.
Player of the Match: Phil Foden
Huddersfield (4-2-3-1): Lee Nicholls; Lasse Sørensen, Josh Feeney, Murray Wallace, Sean Roughan; Ben Wiles, David Kasumu; Marcus Harness, Daniel Vost, Zepiqueno Redmond; Dion Charles
Subs: Owen Goodman (GK), Jay Smith-Sway, Joseph Low, Leo Castledine, Ryan Ledson, Alfie May, Bojan Radulovic, Cameron Ashia, Joe Taylor
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man City Player Ratings vs. Huddersfield: Foden Stars Again in 2–0 Carabao Cup Victory.
