A goal and assist from a reinvigorated Phil Foden secured a comfortable 2-0 win for Manchester City against Huddersfield Town to book their place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
City will now face Championship side Swansea City away from home in the next round, with fixtures set to be played in the week commencing October 27.
Foden and Nico O’Reilly were the only two players to retain their spots in the starting line-up from the 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Sunday and it was the former who fired the hosts ahead in the 18th minute.
After linking up well with Divine Mukasa, the player standing in for Erling Haaland who was absent from the match-day squad, Foden nestled his shot from outside the area into the bottom corner to hand his side a deserved lead.
Forty places separate the two teams in the football pyramid and that chasm showed throughout the fixture but despite their dominance, City were made to wait until the 75th minute before they eventually doubled their lead through Savinho.
The winger, making his first start of the season, was found by Foden on the left and gave goalkeeper Lee Nicholls little chance with the shot as it crashed in off the crossbar to confirm City’s place in the fourth round of the cup.
Huddersfield have not reached the fourth round of the competition since the 1999/2000 season, and that wait now continues, although Lee Grant’s League One side can take pride from the performance and were unlucky not to score on the evening after seeing Cameron Ashia’s late shot cannon off the post.
The goals that fired City in the fourth round…
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Foden fires Manchester City in front
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Savinho doubles City’s 2-0 lead
Foden finding his feet at the perfect time
Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe:
It was against League One opposition but Pep Guardiola and Manchester City fans should be excited by that Phil Foden performance.
He spoke at length after scoring against rivals Manchester United about the outside noise and his drop in performance last season – but looked like a player full of confidence once again on Wednesday night.
He still has a long way to go to reach the former heights that saw him secure the 2023/24 Player of the Season award but a goal and assist here is another step in the right direction.
Ahead of the World Cup, the return of his drive, creativity and quality in the final third could be arriving at the perfect time.
Guardiola: Our spirit is back!
Man City boss Pep Guardiola speaking to Sky Sports:
“A good one. It is always tricky but we played really good. They changed their shape and we had to improve in the build-up but we did really well in general.
“We are in the next round, it is good!
“I don’t take it for granted. The spirit is back in many things, I am so pleased. It was really good.”
Grant: I am so proud of our team
Huddersfield boss Lee Grant speaking to Sky Sports:
“We have worked extremely hard. We knew we would have to work hard. For us, the way we have done that and how we stuck together, I am proud of the guys.
“It is not easy but there are plenty of positives to take from our standpoint. In terms of chance creation and big moments, we managed to limit them to a degree.
“We have to be respectful of how good they were. From our perspective, in terms of work rate and discipline, I am super proud of our team.”
