In a season that offers the possibility of Premier League and Champions League silverware, the Carabao Cup may not rank highly on Pep Guardiola's list but a deserved victory, courtesy of a spectacular first-half goal from Rayan Cherki, advanced the hosts into the semi-final of the competition after beating Brentford.
The Frenchman dispatched emphatically from 22 yards to provide the home side with some stability after early chances from the attacker and Oscar Bobb were denied.
On the hunt for a ninth Carabao Cup winning medal, City advanced in the second half and came close through Phil Foden but it was ultimately Savinho, on 67 minutes, who doubled the Citizens' tally.
The Brazilian, who has been out of favour in recent months by Guardiola, fired from the left and, with some fortune, witnessed his effort loop over Hakon Valdimarsson and bury the visitors’ hopes of a comeback.
On the other hand, it was a positive day for City by virtue of victory but also because academy stars Divine Mukasa and Charlie Gray collected some first-team experience, starting and coming on as a substitute respectively.
Story of the Match
While Guardiola’s last experiment with several changes ended in defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in October, this victory may have reassured the City manager that, perhaps, a dramatic change in weaponry can actually work.
In the end it was the same old faces that made the biggest impact, with Cherki scoring a tremendous opening goal that threatened to worsen Brentford pre-existing poor away record having garnered seven defeats in 10 away games before a ball was kicked.
And on the back of a confidence-boosting victory against Crystal Palace at the weekend — preceded by a 2-1 away win over Real Madrid — City’s endeavour for a first League Cup since 2021 was supplemented as a result of their entry into the semi-finals.
Khusanov was lucky to escape red in the 16 minutes (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
For the majority of the opening 20 minutes, a dampening Etihad Stadium became familiar with the sight of the home side’s dominance with often spells of Brentford counter-attacks; their greatest chance in that time coming from a free-kick.
After 16 minutes, Abdoukodir Khusanov showed his inexperience by lunging in on Kevin Schade just outside the box and narrowly escaping red as the Brentford man would have been through on goal had he not been fouled.
From that set-piece, Mathias Jensen struck towards the top-right corner, with the ball piercing a measly wall from City, but James Trafford – making his first start since October – prevented an early goal from the visitors by punching the danger astray.
Just four minutes after that close call, Cherki made all the difference on an otherwise profligate night for Guardiola’s players, dispatching a wonderful strike from the edge of the area which crashed into the net at the top-right corner.
Savinho scored the last goal of the game after 67 minutes (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
There was an expectation around the opener that was as consequential as it was humbling for Keith Andrews’ side who, aside from the odd chance, looked lost following a rather positive spell in the first stages.
Their first chance since Jensen’s saved free-kick came in the 54th minute when Kristoffer Ajer tried for success from 23 yards with a strike that he caught well and was heading towards the top-left corner of Trafford’s net. The England international got there in time to prevent the equaliser.
Meanwhile the chances continued for City too. Foden, an early replacement for the injured Bobb, who went off after 19 minutes, snapped a shot from a bouncing ball just inside the box to which Valdimarsson replied well, saving low with a strong left hand.
But there was only so much the visiting defence could take, as Savinho put the nail in coffin with a precarious shot that floated over the Brentford goalkeeper, albeit with plenty of fortune.