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Manchester City remain invincible in four years of League Cup playoffs. The winners of the past three seasons will meet Burnley in the fourth round courtesy of Phil Foden.
The 20-year-old is making an ideal start in his bid to fill the void left by David Silva after a vision-filled performance and end product. Pep Guardiola gave Ferran Torres, Zack Steffen, Liam Delap and Adrián Bernabé full debuts in an XI and at the final whistle he pointed out how depleted his squad is due to injuries, with Sergio Agüero and Aymeric Laporte the absent starters. This means Delap, who scored a memorable first goal, can be retained on Matchday 18 for Leicester’s visit to the Etihad on Sunday.
“The situation we have right now, we have 13 players, he is with us and can be selected,” Guardiola said. We’ll see if we need it. But we can’t forget that Liam is only 17 years old and has a lot to improve ”.
Guardiola praised the academy for its production line. “We have the process: Phil and Eric [García] Tommy [Doyle] or Liam, Cole Palmer [an unused substitute]: exceptional players. Congratulations to the academy for these players and all the coaches there ”.
City lined up in an unfamiliar 4-2-3-1 formation that had Delap at the top and Rodri and Doyle at midfield point guard. The opener was created by the elegant Foden with a simple but incisive ball that wiped out Bournemouth’s rear and sent Delap leaping towards it, with his left foot located in the upper right corner.
Guardiola was visibly delighted and City were sailing, Doyle especially enjoyed at this juncture, illustrated by an immaculate turn from Cruyff. However, in an instant Bournemouth leveled through a sweeping sequence that went from left to right as David Brooks fed Dan Gosling. He played on Sam Surridge and his finish, low to Steffen’s right, was as emphatic as Delap’s. Here’s a test for the less gray-haired of the home team, with a four-minute lead.
When Doyle hit a square ball offside with easy-to-find Foden, it indicated how quickly luck had turned. But City gradually recovered. A Kyle Walker ball played to the far post was accurately measured for Delap to hit home plate, but his connection was incorrect. Ten minutes before the break, the Bernabé had to be replaced, the Spaniard left on a stretcher after apparently suffering a knee injury, with Benjamin Mendy entering.
Walker, twice, should have created an opening from the right and a snapshot of Rodri kept Mark Travers, the visiting goalkeeper, alert, but at halftime the game was on the line. Alive in the face of potential danger, Guardiola had Kevin De Bruyne and Nathan Aké warm up along the touchline as the second half began.
City pinned Bournemouth, but when Foden slid the ball, Mendy’s cross deflected from his boot onto the seats behind Travers’ goal. This defense was just as shaky as the first-choice one: a long ball was hit and Surridge was free again to gallop on Steffen, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Garcia rallying to stifle the center forward and danger. Guardiola’s use of two support players in Doyle and Rodri instead of the usual meant City could be too static.
This was part of what led the coach to eliminate the latter for De Bruyne at the time, his team now only has Doyle as a deep midfielder. The Belgian’s first contribution was a shoulder drop that caused a foul, but nothing came from the corner that followed De Bruyne’s own free-kick.
Guardiola’s next decision was to replace Doyle with Raheem Sterling, so the coach had gone from two players in front of his defense to none. After another free kick by De Bruyne failed and Torres floated into a cross Bournemouth handled with ease, City finally found penetration and the winner. Mahrez and Foden combined, the former hitting the ball off Travers’ left post before the latter hitting. Guardiola punched the air and at the end the City’s winning streak was 16 draws. Jason Tindall was disappointed but proud. “They did themselves justice,” said the Bournemouth manager.
