Manchester City booked their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Thursday night by beating Liverpool, 3-2. It was an exciting game involving five different scorers. However, it was City’s midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne who ran the show.
Before the match, tensions were high between the two clubs. In fact, both teams, along with groups of fans, scheduled a meeting during the World Cup break to ease the pressure around the game. Apart from a small dispute between Fabinho and Rodri in the second half, tempers did not flare much on the pitch. Both players were booked for their parts in the shoving matchup.
Haaland attacks once more
Unsurprisingly, superstar forward Erling Haaland opened the scoring in the game. And it took less than 10 minutes to do it. The City striker edged past Joe Gomez to score his 24th goal of the current campaign. Haaland has only appeared in 18 games in total this season.
However, Liverpool quickly fought back with a goal just 10 minutes later. Fabio Carvalho passed the ball cleanly into the back of the net after some good work from James Milner and Joel Matip.
Riyad Mahrez gave City the lead once more two minutes into the second half. The Algerian international scored thanks to a fantastic first touch and a perfect finish into the bottom corner of the net.
However, Liverpool once again scored quickly to level the game again just a minute later. Mohamed Salah scored one of his easiest goals this season after a good run down the wing from Darwin Núñez. All the Egyptian had to do was score a wide-open goal for City.
What does City find winning over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup
City regained the lead, this time for good, just 10 minutes later. Central defender Nathan Ake headed through the Liverpool goal and into the net. De Bruyne hit a perfect cross for the goal.
The Belgium international may not have scored, but he did pick up two assists in the match. Along with the assists, De Bruyne also racked up five key passes in total.
Liverpool’s defeat means there will be a new Carabao Cup winner this season. The Reds previously collected the cup in February. Prior to Liverpool’s success last season, City won four consecutive Carabao Cup titles.
PHOTO: IMAGO/PA Images
