Manchester City player ratings for the Carabao Cup win over Norwich City as the Blues ran out 5-0 winners
Floyd Samba was excellent on debut vs Norwich
Floyd Samba was excellent on debut vs Norwich
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Manchester City booked their place in the last-16 of the Carabao Cup with a comfortable 5-0 win over Norwich. Teenage debutant Floyd Samba was the star, scoring twice in a match where he was the best player as his excited family watched on.
Rayan Cherki scored City's second and was substituted at half time, with Enzo Maresca resting a host of his stars completely and leaving others completely unused from the bench. In their place was a second-string side featuring ten changes that made sure they got the job done to book a home tie with United's conquerors, Brighton.
Brazilian winger Allan also got a goal and assist as he made his first start since joining from Palmeiras, while Nico O'Reilly came back into the team for the first time since pulling out of the Coventry match in the warm-up with a back injury and Ryan McAidoo added a late fifth.
Here are the ratings from the Manchester Evening News.
Rulli: Did everything that was asked of him on what was a quiet night with few saves to make. 6
Lewis: Put in a lot of running and made sure he got back to right-back before making his way up the pitch again. 7
Khusanov: Ropey in the first half, losing possession in a variety of ways. Improved after the break. 6
Reis: Happy to be the last man back and looked comfortable bringing it forward when the space opened up. 7
O'Reilly: Did well with his run for the opening goal but wasn't at the top of his game throughout. 6
Bouaddi: Strangely played as a left-sided defender for much of the first half but still influenced the game. 7
Kovacic: Kept things tidy when City were sloppy early on and was always a reliable option in midfield. 7
Allan: A goal and an assist on debut, even if that does mask a night that he found challenging against his full-back. 6
Ait-Nouri: Looked isolated on the left wing and never really took anything that came his way in what was a missed opportunity. 5
Cherki: Started off terribly but settled and then showed his class with the goal to earn an early night. 7
Samba: What a performance from the 17-year-old as he shone from start to finish and walked away with two goals. 9
Substitutes
McAidoo (for Cherki, 46) Bright without being overly involved in the game before his late goal. 7
Braithwaite (for Allan, 71) No dramas as he was pushed up the pitch. 6
Not used: Donnarumma, Guehi, Nunes, Anderson, Ndiaye, Fernandez, Semenyo