Manchester City are out of the Carabao Cup after losing 2-0 to Southampton.
Manchester City have been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Southampton.
City’s quest to win back the trophy they finally relinquished their grip on last season came to a disappointing end on Wednesday as they were deservedly and soundly beaten 2-0 by the Saints. First-half goals from Sekou Mara and Mousse Djenepo were the difference.
Attention will now quickly turn to the massive Manchester derby on Saturday as Pep Guardiola’s side looks to bounce back from their dreadful display. Here are three things you may have missed from the match.
1 – Bad night for Gomez
It goes without saying that Sergio Gomez has not had a great start to life at City. His displays before the World Cup, including a red card against FC Copenhagen, saw him slip down the pecking order as Rico Lewis overtook him. The writing already looked on the wall when he didn’t start against Liverpool in the first game of the restart despite being one of the few players not to travel to Qatar.
Yet, the Spaniard appeared to have earned a reprieve after starting two games in succession against Chelsea and Southampton. It may be a while before he starts again, though. Gomez gave the ball away for the opener and was all over the place for the first half.
It was of little surprise when he was hooked at half-time but the reaction of the travelling supporters was. When it was announced he was to be substituted, a loud sarcastic cheer of approval came up from the away end.
2 – Digs aimed at Haaland
Gomez wasn’t the only one to receive flack from those in attendance but in Erling Haaland’s case, it was from the home supporters. The Norwegian sensation was introduced early in the second half as City chased a goal and he got a brief opening when the ball was lofted towards him in the box.
However, the angle was awkward and Haaland could only get an outstretched leg to the high ball and sent it looping over. The Saints supporters were obviously delighted with the miss and responded by singing: ‘You’re just a s*** Ricky Lambert.”
3 – Two foul throws
It was a dreadful evening for City as they put in perhaps their worst performance since Guardiola took charge.
What summed it up perfectly was that the side committed not one but two foul throws. First Sergio Gomez typified his dreadful night with one in an attacking position at the end of the first half before Joao Cancelo, whose form remains largely inconsistent, did the same as the 90th minute was approaching.
The Blues managed to do more foul throws than shots on target, of which they managed a big fat zero.
