City stroll, Hasenhuttl on brink
LONDON: Manchester City cruised into the League Cup quarter-finals as Sergio Aguero’s double added to struggling Southampton’s misery in a 3-1 win on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola’s League Cup holders were two up by half-time at the Etihad Stadium thanks to goals from Nicolas Otamendi and Aguero.
Guardiola had made nine changes to the team that beat Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday, giving a debut to 18-year-old midfielder Tommy Doyle.
Doyle’s grandfather Mike was City’s captain when they won the League Cup in 1976 and the club remain on course to win the tournament for a seventh time.
City, who have lifted the trophy three times in the last four seasons, began the fourth round tie serenaded by chants of “We want 10” in reference to Southampton’s 9-0 thrashing by Leicester on Friday.
Although City were never likely to match that incredible result, their progress to the last eight was inevitable after a one-sided first half.
The breakthrough came in the 20th minute when Bernardo Silva looped in a cross and Otamendi headed home.
City’s second arrived in the 38th minute when Kyle Walker sent over a cross and Aguero, on his 350th club appearance, produced a precise close-range finish for his 11th goal of the season.
Southampton are languishing in the Premier League relegation zone amid speculation boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is in danger of being sacked.
Hasenhuttl’s cause was hardly helped when Aguero made it three for City in the 56th minute, the Argentine poking in after Riyad Mahrez’s shot deflected high into the penalty area.
It was little consolation for Southampton when Jack Stephens headed in from a James Ward-Prowse corner in the 75th minute.
As if the last few days haven’t been painful enough for Southampton, they have to do it all again on Saturday when they return to Manchester to face City in the Premier League.
“This competition is good to move the team on. We played seriously, the quality of our passing was high,” Guardiola said.
Everton eased the pressure on beleaguered boss Marco Silva with a 2-0 win over his former club Watford.
Silva’s team are just outside the Premier League relegation zone after Saturday’s last-gasp defeat at Brighton.
Another loss to a Watford team with an even worse record this season could have been fatal for Silva, but Mason Holgate and Richarlison gave him some breathing space.
Leicester joined City and Everton in the last eight with a 3-1 victory at League One side Burton.
RESULTS
Fourth round
Burton 1 (Boyce 52) Leicester 3 (Iheanacho 7, Tielemans 20, Maddison 89); Crawley 1 (Bulman 20) Colchester 3 (Norris 22, Luyambula 53-og, Gambin 79); Everton 2 (Holgate 72, Richarlison 90) Watford 0; Manchester City 3 (Otamendi 20, Aguero 38, 56) Southampton 1 (Stephens 75); Oxford 1 (Hall 25) Sunderland 1 (McNulty 78) Oxford won 4-2 on penalties