Manchester City won the battle of the giants in the English League Cup. What do the quarter-final pairings look like?

Elite club football is making a gradual comeback after the World Cup in Qatar. The last and most attractive eighth-final duel of this year’s Carabao Cup was the clash between reigning Premier League champion Manchester City and Liverpool, the defending League Cup winners. The dramatic match was eventually won by the Citizens, 3-2. The quarter-final draw followed.

Both teams were affected by the absence of some players. Pep Guardiola was missing goalkeeper Ederson, stopper Rúben Dias and recent world champion Julián Álvarez. Jürgen Klopp could not count on Roberto Firmino or the long injured Diogo Jota, Luis Díaz and others.

The home side had the first major chance on Thursday night at the Etihad Stadium, in the sixth minute. Cole Palmer received a pass from Haaland in a good position in the whitewash, but his shot was not successful at all.

At the end of the opening ten minutes, the score was already changing when the Norwegian cannonballer asserted himself. De Bruyne centred from the left and Erling Haaland from an awkward position beat Irish goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

Ten minutes later, the game was level. After an assist from Milner, 20-year-old Fábio Carvalho shot accurately into the bottom left corner of German Stefan Ortega’s goal.

The Manchester City players had more shooting opportunities in the subsequent stages of the first half. Gündogan had a great chance in the 36th minute, but the Reds goalkeeper made a difficult save, as he did afterwards against Aki’s header following a corner kick.

Immediately afterwards, a change in the Liverpool line-up was forced. The injured James Milner was replaced on the pitch by Nathaniel Phillips. His Uruguayan teammate Darwin Núñez fumbled his shot in the 42nd minute after a good run behind the defence in the whitewash and missed the opponent’s net. The same player also sent the ball wide of the three posts in stoppage time after a standard situation.

The five-goal shootout was decided by Aké

A minute after the change of sides, Riyad Mahrez gave the Citizens the lead back. The Algerian cleverly worked a pass from Rodri and successfully fired from the right to the far post.

The joy for Guardiola’s side didn’t last long as it was 2-2 in the 48th minute. Núñez crossed into the penalty area to Mohamed Salah, who had no problem directing the ball into the open net.

Just before the hour mark, Manchester City were back in front. Kevin de Bruyne’s centre was again cleverly played in, and the unguarded header by Nathan Aké took advantage.

In the 72nd minute, Núñez missed his third chance of the game, again shooting wide. On the other side, De Bruyne fired hard with five minutes to go, followed by Foden, but Kelleher was not beaten this time.

The end of the second half was also marked by more emotion and fiercer battles. However, the eight-time reigning champions did not let the 3:2 victory slip away and advanced to the quarter-finals.

How did the other eight-final duels turn out?

In the previous days, the other matches of the eight-final stage of the English League Cup were played. On Tuesday, Southampton won against Lincoln 2-1, Newcastle beat Bournemouth 1-0, Wolverhampton beat Gillingham 2-0 and Milton Keynes Dons lost to Leicester 0-3.

Wednesday’s schedule also featured one home defeat as Blackburn fell to Nottingham 1: 4. Furthermore, Charlton defeated Brighton 1: 0 after penalties and Manchester United beat Burnley 2: 0.

The line-up for the quarter-finals is now complete

The draw for the next stage of the Carabao Cup took place shortly after Manchester City’s clash with Liverpool. The winner will play in Southampton.

City’s city rival, Manchester United, will welcome third-tier Charlton Athletic. Nottingham Forest will take on Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United will play Leicester City.

Source: Carabao Cup, Nova Sport 1