Man City 2 Bournemouth 1

Foden pips defiant Cherries with his late winner

PHIL FODEN continued his fine start to the new season for holders Manchester City to send them through to the fourth round.

He created City’s opener and scored their winner in the 75th minute as Pep Guardiola’s side were forced to dig deep to overcome a resi l ient Bournemouth.

But City’s class eventually told as Guardiola’s side maintained their quest for a fourth straight EFL Cup success, which will take them to Burnley in the next round.

Foden might have been City’s match-winner, but the night was also memorable for the introduction of striker Liam Delap, 17, son of former Stoke midfielder and thrown- in legend Rory.

Delap marked his City debut with a stunning strike to give City the lead and played the full 90 minutes, frequently making his presence felt with some robust centre-forward play.

With so many players injured and Ilkay Gundogan isolating after testing positive for coronavirus, Guardiola was forced to dip into his youth ranks and team them with some established names.

As well as Delap, there was also a debut for goalkeeper Zack Steffen, 25, while winger Ferran Torres, a £ 21million summer signing from Valencia, was handed a full debut.

City, chasing a recordequalling eighth League Cup triumph, had not lost a tie since a 1-0 defeat at local rivals Manchester United, then managed by Jose Mourinho, in 2016.

Predictably, City dominated possession early on, Foden twice playing balls in behind the visitors for Torres and Riyad Mahrez, both of whom were thwarted by Bournemouth keeper Mark Travers.

But it was to prove third time lucky when Foden, again the architect, played the ball through to Delap, who produced a sublime, left-footed finish into the top right corner.

With City dominating possession and creating chances, it looked as if Delap’s opener would prove the platform for them to fully assert their early dominance and build a decent lead.

But Bournemouth refused to roll over, Sam Surridge producing a clinical finish four minutes later to round off a slick move and get the visitors back on level terms. The Blues put Jason Tindall’s side under relentless pressure in the second half, which the visitors did well to absorb.

And Guardiola was forced to bring on Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling to help get his men over the line.

Bournemouth’s resolve was eventually broken with Foden’s late strike when he turned the ball in, after a Mahrez shot rebounded off a post, to seal the victory.