Man City’s key transfer target made clear in shootout win vs Leicester

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After a tense encounter at the King Power Stadium Manchester City edged past Leicester on penalties after 1-1 draw in the League Cup quarter-final.

Pep Guardiola’s men began the match in authoritative fashion, dominating the pitch and dictating the tempo of play, and they were soon rewarded for their superiority, Kevin De Bruyne dispatching a lethal strike past Danny Ward on the 14th minute.

Leicester came out in the second-half with more purpose and soon pegged Man City back 20 minutes from the end, substitute Marc Albrighton getting on the end of an over the top pass from Wilfred Ndidi before firing past Arijanet Muric

The match ended stalemate and went straight to a penalty shoot-out with Man City winning 1-3 and securing their place in the League Cup semi-final. And so, after a tight match, what did we learn?

1. De Bruyne back with a bang

The Belgian made his first competitive start in just over a month this evening, having missed the majority of the campaign through two significant knee injuries, and he marked the occasion with a quite breathtaking finish, using his intelligence to brush past Hamza Choudhury before unleashing a thunderbolt effort beyond the keeper’s reach.

His recent absence has been somewhat remedied by the talismanic performances of Bernardo Silva, who has exceptionally come of age this campaign, but the playmaker’s return will nonetheless be met with much glee, such is his world class talent and importance to the City XI.

Guardiola’s men have been characteristically sublime this season but De Bruyne’s restoration will take them to new heights, and will certainly leave the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs quaking in their boots – this is worrying sign for those challenging City’s domestic throne.

2. Puel’s subs almost save the Foxes

The Foxes are sitting comfortably in mid-table and have no European football to contest with, so the League Cup presented Puel the perfect opportunity to really pull out all the stocks and try to clinch tangible silverware this season – unfortunately for Leicester fans, the Frenchman made seven changes from the weekend and rested a number of key players.

Man City themselves are replete with creative and technical quality but also chose to deploy a makeshift XI consisting of three teenagers, John Stones in midfield, no Ederson between the sticks and a centre-back debutant. Guardiola understandably opted to rest key players with one eye on the Champions League, and another on trying to retain their Premier League crown.

But for Leicester there are no such distractions this season, and with growing frustration mounting on Puel following a string of lukewarm performances, a positive result would have gone a long way to alleviating those concerns. He was somewhat saved by his second-half substitutes, with his side looking a completely different beast after the restart, matching City man-for-man and attacking with much more intensity and vigour, but City were there for the taking at the start of the match.

3. Eric Garcia’s impressive debut

Among the wholesale changes made by Guardiola was the introduction of 17-year-old Eric Garcia to his backline, and judging by the performance he produced this evening, you would never have guessed he was a teenager, such was the maturity and assertiveness of his display.

Making his competitive debut, Garcia formed an effective centre-back partnership with Nicolas Otamendi. The duo were looking good value for the majority of the match but were eventually breached by a superbly taken Albrighton strike in the second-half.

Oleksandr Zinchenko was at fault for the goal, but it was the only real blemish on an otherwise impressive performance from Garcia, who certainly looks like the archetypal Guardiola player: ball-playing ability, composure and an intelligent reading of the game.

Garcia hailed from La Masia so those traits should come as no surprise, and with three teenagers showcasing their talents tonight, the future is looking bright at the Etihad, and the 21st century has certainly arrived.

4. Stones’ new role

At the start of the season John Stones was utilised in central midfield during the Community Shield, starting the match in a back four but pushing further forward once Vincent Kompany was introduced, and once again, Guardiola has experimented with the versatile England international.

After the Community Shield victory Guardiola stated that he would consider a midfield role for Stones, and now four months on he has followed through with his word, starting Stones just in front of the back four this evening, but he was largely unimpressive.

Playing in unfamiliar territory, Stones did not have the required athleticism or intelligence to anchor the midfield in true Sergio Busquets style, putting further pressure on Guardiola to seek defensive midfield options in the coming transfer windows.

The importance of Fernandinho cannot be understated, but at 33-years-old, there remains a huge concern of what life will be like after the Brazilian parts company from the north-west; however, one thing is for certain, the answer to that question is not Stones.

5. Foden at the top of Pep’s list (Brahim off)

No player made more key passes in this match than Phil Foden who continues to impress whenever he takes to the field; he also averaged a pass success rate of 91% which was more than any attacking player in the City team.

Also under the microscope was Brahim Diaz, who has been at loggerheads with the City hierarchy over a new contract, as his present deal is set to expire at the end of the season, but the 19-year-old largely failed a performance reflective of the immense hype surrounding him.

At the King Power it was Foden who looked the more promising of the starlets, perhaps much to the distress of Guardiola, who will continue to come in for criticism for not giving ‘The Stockport Iniesta’ more playing time.

The post The 21st century arrives: five things learned from Man City’s shootout win vs. Leicester appeared first on Squawka News.



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