Diaz double dose does for Fulham
IT MAY have been City’s second string on show at the Etihad last night but it proved more than enough to tie Fulham in knots and secure a quarter-final place.
A virtuoso performance from teenage starlet Phil Foden and two goals for Brahim Diaz perhaps carried the doubleedged sword of alerting European vultures to their talents.
Both have been the subject of attempts to lure them away, Foden attracting admiring glances from everywhere and the Spanish Under-21 forward courted by Real Madrid and apparently disaffected with life in the reserves.
But the pair looked anything but for the holders last night, Diaz scoring his first two senior goals for the club – to book a trip to either Leicester or Southampton – and Foden looking once again as if he has the world at his feet here in Manchester.
This was as comfortable a night for City as Pep Guardiola could have wished for, with Fulham posing little threat and his back-up squad shining brightly.
Indeed, the only negative on an evening they moved a step closer to what they hope will be a fourth league cup final in six years was the sight of Kevin De Bruyne limping off after a bang to his left knee.
If Fulham had needed any further indication of the size of the task facing them it came AT THE ETIHAD back from the start. The attacks came thick and fast as City traced mesmerising patterns around the white shirts and the tandem threats of Leroy Sane and Foden on the left and De Bruyne and Diaz on the right caused havoc.
Foden stung Sergio Rico’s hands with a hammered shot on the angle from the left after 14 minutes.
Four minutes later City were in front after a Diaz shot from the other side took a deflection off Aleksandar Mitrovic.
It was a slightly fortunate break but no less than a brilliant first-half display deserved.
Danilo might have added a second after a powerful driving run on the right saw him crash a shot against the outside of a post. Sane failed to round off a superb exchange between De Bruyne and Foden, lifting his shot over just after the half hour mark.
Just before half-time Foden should have buried a header after timing a run brilliantly to get on the end of a whipped low cross from De Bruyne only to glance his effort wide.
Gabriel Jesus went close, wriggling through two defenders only to crash his shot just wide.
It was one-way traffic and Fulham were unable to stop it continuing after the break.
Sane was a handful for Timothy Fosu-Mensah on the left flank all night and warmed to his task further as the night progressed.
Fulham will have been grateful his finishing was not much improved in the second period though, a second chance going begging when he was clean through on the left.
But a second was not long in coming and, rather like London buses, it fell to Diaz to put City clear.
Jesus deserved the bulk of the credit setting it up with a mazy run to the left byline and a right-footed far post shot which rebounded to the feet of Diaz.
The Spaniard touch before smashing it high Fulham goal.
MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): FULHAM (4-4-2): Referee: Booked:
took one gratefully into the
Goals:
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