Yet another cup tie for the team from the Blue Half of Manchester, but City did not emerge victorious this time around against Southampton F. C. in the quarterfinal of the Carabao Cup, losing the match 2-0 away at the St. Mary’s Stadium and crashing out of the tournament as a result. This shock defeat to the Citizens meant its arch-nemesis, Manchester United, is now the clear favourite to win it all in the competition and might accomplish its first major trophy since winning the 2016/2017 UEFA Europa League title.
No Shots on Target for Citizens
Pep Guardiola’s City, who has won four consecutive Carabao Cups from 2018 to 2021, had four changes to its starting line-up that ran riot against Premier League rival Chelsea via a 4-0 score line, with João Cancelo, Kalvin Phillips, İlkay Gündoğan and Jack Grealish being chosen to start the match. Nonetheless, it was the home team that drew first blood of the match, when a long ball found 20-year-old France’s forward Sékou Mara in the penalty box. He was the quickest to react, shooting the ball through his first touch to prevent any interceptions from the speedy Kyle Walker and the powerful strike was too much for Stefan Ortega. Southampton did not wait long to find their second as a poor positioning from the opposing shot stopper gave Mali’s midfielder Moussa Djenepo the idea to float a long-range effort on goal. Ortega, who was out of his position in the box, had no chance saving the shot, conceding a cheap goal to the Saints. The 2-0 score line remained till the half-time and final whistles.
Pep Guardiola decided to shift things up early in the second half, but they were never really in the game throughout the 90 minutes plus added time. The Spanish coach’s changes also indicated that City’s priority for the next game, which is a clash with their rival Manchester United away at Old Trafford in the Premier League. It is worth noting that Citizens did not manage a single shot on goal despite having seven efforts and bringing 22-year-old goal machine Erling Haaland in before the hour mark. Their 72% possession and two times more of passes on enemy’s soil too became worthless after the defeat.
The victory for Saints meant they will be facing the winner of another quarterfinal fixture, Newcastle United next in the semifinal while Manchester United will take on Nottingham Forest after beating Charlton Athletic F. C. at home.
Manchester City managed ZERO shots on target vs. Southampton 😱 pic.twitter.com/tQzQdT3ZNG
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 11, 2023
Pep: “We Deserved the Defeat.”
In the post-match conference, City’s 51-year-old head coach mentioned that: “A different competition, of course if we perform in this way we don’t have a chance. I know the moment they have. Many years they’re looking forward to stay in this position. We know exactly what to do to play better and we’re going to try to do it.” The Spanish coaching genius also acknowledged his opponent’s brilliant performance tonight, saying that “The best team won. They were better. We had a bad night, they played good. We had a bad start. They performed well. We have to deserve it. I want to deserve it and today was not the case. Southampton deserve to be in the semi-final of this competition.”
When asked about the next match against United, which was trashed by City 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium earlier this season thanks to a hat-trick each from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, Pep responded that should his team play like what they did last evening, City’s arch-rival will likely be the winner in Saturday’s early fixture at United’s home. The clash will see two teams from the current Top Four of the Premier League table going up against each other, with each having different ambitions in their league endeavour.
View this post on Instagram
