Manchester City got the response they needed from their squad players against Brentford | OneFootball

Manchester City booked themselves a semi-final tie against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup with a comfortable 2-nil win over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium last night. Goals from Rayan Cherki and Savinho were enough for Pep Guardiola’s side to see off Keith Andrews’ side. Pep Guardiola heavily rotated his squad for last night’s match. He also got the response he would’ve wanted from his squad players as a host of them played well against Brentford last night.

A host of Manchester City squad players did exactly what they had to do against Brentford.

Last night saw Pep Guardiola make seven changes to the starting lineup that beat Crystal Palace. James Trafford, Rico Lewis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nathan Ake, Savinho, Oscar Bobb, and Divine Mukasa all came into the starting eleven. The hope was that each player could show something against Brentford. Outside of Oscar Bobb who suffered an injury and had to be taken off after 15 minutes, each of Manchester City’s squad players made an impression last night.

James Trafford put in a composed performance in goal. His play with his feet was more than serviceable and he made several quality saves. Trafford’s double save from Kristoffer Ajer and Michael Kayode in the 53rd and 54th minutes was crucial in City maintaining their 1-nil lead. Ahead of Trafford, Rico Lewis and Nathan Ake were superb. The pair defended extremely well and showed that they have plenty to contribute for Manchester City this season. Abdukodir Khusanov looked rusty in the first half and was perhaps lucky not to be sent off after a challenge on Kevin Schade early in the first half. In the second half, Khusanov showed exactly why he is so highly regarded at City with a fine defensive performance. He made several crucial challenges and his speed was a crucial asset to Manchester City’s defence.

Divine Mukasa showed flashes of his quality as a player, although he didn’t get into the game as often as he would’ve liked. Savinho put in a superb performance on either wing and scored a much-needed goal for his confidence. Oscar Bobb unfortunately went off due to injury early in the first half which was a pity for him as he needed a good performance for his confidence.

Pep Guardiola was pleased to see his fringe players perform well against Brentford.

Speaking after his team’s win over Brentford, Pep Guardiola was pleased with the performances of his fringe players. Guardiola said his team made a slow start to last night’s match, but they grew into the game. He explained: “These players who didn’t play much played really, really well. We struggled to be more aggressive in our pressing; it was not top, we didn’t bring as many players back to then be in a position to move forward. that’s why we struggled.”

“We have a good result, we struggle the first 10/15 minutes, but after that with actions in behind with Oscar and Savinho we took the game.”

Manchester City got the response and performances they needed from a host of squad players. After seeing Pep Guardiola barely rotate his squad for the past five matches, he now seemingly has more options and players ready to contribute when required. That can only be looked at as a positive as City look to continue their impressive recent form in the coming weeks.