LONDON • It was evident how far Manchester United's stock had fallen at Leicester, where the away Manchester City supporters were in full voice, trolling their cross-town rivals with "bring back (Jose) Mourinho" chants.
They were jubilant after seeing their side beat Leicester 3-1 on penalties on Tuesday night to move into the League Cup semi-finals, with United having exited the tournament in the third round under their sacked manager.
Despite making eight changes from their last game against Everton, the Cup holders remain on course for the third trophy of the Pep Guardiola era, although his players did not entirely have it their own way after the scoreline finished 1-1 in normal time.
The Spaniard was indebted to rookie goalkeeper Arijanet Muric, who showed "veins of ice" to emerge as the hero in the shoot-out, keeping out two of Leicester's attempts from the spot.
The 20-year-old Kosovo international has yet to play in the Premier League, with his three appearances this season all coming in the League Cup. But he was not the only relatively untested player to be given a run-out against the Foxes.
Spanish midfielder Eric Garcia also made his City debut and the 17-year-old's "huge personality" enabled the Premier League champions to gain a footing in the tie, striking first through Kevin de Bruyne.
It was the Belgium midfielder's first goal for City since April and there was unbridled joy on his face, with the club's Player of the Year having endured a stop-start campaign after suffering two separate knee injuries.
Although Marc Albrighton equalised for the Foxes in the second half, Muric repaid Guardiola's faith in him, stopping penalties from Caglar Soyuncu and James Maddison.
Only Raheem Sterling erred for City, blazing his spot-kick over, while Ilkay Gundogan, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko made no mistakes.
Guardiola cut a relieved figure afterwards, declaring the tie to be "a tough game" and admitting "it was always difficult at Leicester".
However, he reserved special praise for both Garcia and Muric, insisting their displays vindicated his decision to blood them at the King Power Stadium.
The 47-year-old told reporters: "Aro is so big, his reaction is so quick and he took the right decisions. It's good experience for him. He is a young guy, he is so shy, it's a nice moment. He deserves the big applause.
"He (Garcia) has good vision, a good pass. He's so smart. It's incredible, I'm very pleased. I'm so delighted with his performance."
De Bruyne, who made his first start since Nov 1, also hailed Muric's heroics as a "beautiful moment", adding: "To be out for so long and to play 70 minutes is a good sign for me. We want to win titles so there's two games more and we can battle for another trophy."
In the other last-eight tie, third-tier Burton advanced to the semi-finals for the first time in their history after a shock 1-0 win at Championship side Middlesbrough through Jake Hesketh's winner.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Jurgen Klopp pinpointed a mounting injury list as the explanation for Liverpool's sub-par performance in a 1-1 draw at West Ham on Monday that leaves the league leaders just three points clear of
Premier League - Page 3 - Champion Delight - Football News
Liverpool could match Arsenal's Invincibles by going through a Premier League season without defeat, according to Unai Emery. Jurgen Klopp's side reached the halfway stage of the campaign with a 4-0 Boxing Day defeat of Newcastle United at Anfield, a result that moved the Reds six points clear at the top of the table.
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool can be the new 'Invincibles', says
Feb 03, 2019 · Sergio Aguero hat-trick gives Manchester City comfortable win over Arsenal for all the beauty and aesthetic precision of the football the City manager demands he needs a cold-blooded, ruthless
Man City 3-1 Arsenal highlights and reaction as Sergio Aguero
Egyptian football star Mohamed "Mo" Salah has called for change in the way women are treated in the Muslim world, in an interview with Time magazine published Wednesday. The 26-year-old
Green has tailored his game to the rest of the Warriors' personnel, which typically means less shots and more of the defensive, energy things that don't always show up on the stat sheet. For example, Green scored a season-high 20 points last Friday. He'd likely be scoring in the 20s on any other team much more frequently.
Editorial: Ban California kids from Pop Warner football
Tigers riding high headed into 'must win' game. JSU has improved its postseason prospects with back-to-back wins, but has more work to do.
Official Detroit Tigers Website | MLB.com
Fulham dig deep to deny Newcastle and earn first clean sheet Soccer Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Fulham - St James Park, Newcastle, Britain - December 22, 2018 Fulhams Joe Bryan in action with Newcastle Uniteds Kenedy REUTERS/Scott Heppell (Reuters) - NEWCASTLE UNITED 0 FULHAM 0
Fulham dig deep to deny Newcastle and earn first clean sheet
Relatives raise funds to continue search for missing
Eden Hazard hit the winning penalty for Chelsea to beat Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 in a shootout on Thursday and reach the Europa League final where they will meet fellow Londoners Arsenal. The lively semi-final contest had finished 1-1 after the sides had produced the same scoreline in Frankfurt a week ago.
Chelsea reach Europa League final after penalty win
Find the best selection of Sterling Bass at Guitar Center at the guaranteed lowest prices and free shipping.
Sterling by Music Man StingRay 5 Electric Bass, 5-String
Trust is not only between two people, but it's also within ourselves. Trust is when you know you can rely on yourself, have confidence in yourself and we feel safe physically and emotionally with
6 Ways to Build Trust in Yourself - healthline.com
Sergio Aguero is adored at Manchester City and celebrated in the Premier League but Argentina's failures have hit his standing at home. Aguero set to burnish reputation in England amid
Manchester City Not Set to Rest Players for Carabao Cup, Says
0 comments:
Post a Comment