Match Report & Player Ratings: Manchester City 2-0 Brentford (Carabao Cup) | OneFootball

Manchester City progressed through to the Carabao Cup semi-finals by beating Brentford comfortably on a rainy night at the Etihad Stadium.

A beautiful Rayan Cherki strike and a heavily deflected Savinho effort either side of the half-time interval were enough to see the Blues through to the next round of a competition they have now not won since 2021.

The opening stages were predictably cagey, mirroring a theme seen in recent outings. Brentford looked to threaten early, but were repeatedly caught offside – no fewer than five times in the first-half alone. And it did not take long for City to establish a foothold.

James Trafford came very close to creating Manchester City’s first major chances with the goalkeeper unlucky that Oscar Bobb and Savinho were unable to latch on to some brilliant balls over the top of the Brentford defence in the sixth and ninth minute.

It took 13 minutes for City to get their first shot on target as Oscar Bobb ventured into the Brentford box, dancing past left-back Rico Henry, only to unleash a rather tame effort at Hakon Valdimarsson.

A mere minute later, Brentford mounted their first threatening attack. A clumsy challenge on Kevin Schade from Abdukodir Khusanov brought an end to the opportunity, but also resulted in a yellow card – and one that Keith Andrews believed should have been a red. It was at this point that City were dealt an early blow with Oscar Bobb pulling up with a suspected hamstring injury, forcing an early substitute appearance for Phil Foden.

Despite the disruption, City continued to grow into the match. In the 23rd minute, Rayan Cherki tested goalkeeper Valdimarsson with a thunderous strike from distance – an encouraging sign of what was to come as Pep Guardiola’s side began to assert control.

And just eight minutes later, the breakthrough arrived. Following a corner, the ball fell invitingly to Cherki once again on the edge of the area, and a trademark dummy created the space he needed before unleashing an emphatic effort into the top-right corner.

Pep Guardiola’s men emerged for the second half on the front foot, immediately pushing Brentford back. The visitors, however, showed brief resistance, forcing Trafford into two smart saves in the 53rd minute – only his second and third of the night.

Brentford would continue to threaten for the next few minutes, but a revitalised Khusanov had the answer to everything. After a shaky start, the 21-year-old came out with a performance that City fans will be much more used to. His second-half resurgence really set the tone for an even more dominant display for the Blues than had been seen in the first 45 minutes.

Come the 63rd minute, and City were testing the Brentford defence once again – a cleanly struck low effort from Phil Foden forced the Brentford keeper into making a brilliant save to keep the gap between the two teams to just one goal.

In the 67th minute, City struck decisively on the counter-attack. Tijjani Reijnders’ incisive pass released Savinho, who drove purposefully towards the Brentford area. With a slice of good fortune and a significant deflection, the Brazilian’s effort looped over Valdimarsson and into the net.

The closing stages were largely procedural for the hosts, resembling little more than a training exercise. City managed the final 20 minutes expertly, offering Brentford scarcely a sight of goal beyond brief spells at the start of each half and allowing for a senior debut for 19-year-old midfielder Charlie Gray.

Here’s how we rated the Manchester City team’s individual performances after Wednesday’s Carabao Cup last-four clash!

Starting XI

Player Ratings

James Trafford – 6.5/10

An assured performance all round from Trafford. His distribution was brilliant throughout, and he saved the three shots that came his way more than adequately. One of his most comfortable performances in a City shirt.

Rico Lewis – 6.5/10

Didn’t set the world alight, but did everything he had to do all over the pitch. Took some pressure off Nico, playing a lot more centrally than we usually see Matheus Nunes play. Played over on the left and even further up the pitch in the later stages. Nothing spectacular, but a good performance to build from.

Abdukodir Khusanov – 7/10

A somewhat shaky start in his return to the starting lineup, more than made up for with a dominant performance in the second half. Possibly lucky to stay on the pitch after a very clumsy challenge in the opening exchanges.

Nathan Ake – 6/10

Could have possibly done more to cut out the ball leading to Khusanov’s yellow card, did very little wrong after that.

Nico O’Reilly – 7/10

Another brilliant display from the 20-year-old. Operated on both sides of the defence at times, playing on both sides equally effectively. Extremely impressive in the tight spaces, nobody took more touches in his 66 minutes on the pitch, further underlining how important he is to this side.

Nico Gonzalez – 7/10

Crucial to the team’s dominance as always tonight. Withdrawn in the 66th minute, but looked much more energetic than he did against Crystal Palace. Completed more passes (56) than anyone on the pitch in the 66 minutes he played; only Nico O’Reilly (70) made more touches than Gonzalez’s 63. Kept the Brentford midfield very quiet, almost singlehandedly at times.

Tijani Reijnders – 6.5/10

The Dutchman has had better performances in a City shirt, but still walked away with an assist in a dominant team performance. His overall rating is hindered by a slow start for the midfielder, he looked more and more comfortable as the match went on.

Rayan Cherki – 8/10 (POTM)

Yet another silky smooth performance from the summer signing. Pretty much every flick and trick he attempted came off, as he never stopped threatening the Brentford defence. Every attack of any importance ran through Cherki. His goal was nothing less than sensational.

Savinho – 7.5/10

The Brazilian’s best performance this season. He didn’t put a foot wrong all game. No one had more shots (4) and no one completed more dribbles (7). A very good performance for the winger to build off, even if he was lucky to get a goal out of it, hopefully a huge confidence boost.

Divine Mukasa – 5.5/10

Filled in across the front line adequately but struggled to impact the game, completely understandable in only his third official appearance. Filled in on both sides of the pitch as well as in the middle, just didn’t get much opportunity to impose himself.

Oscar Bobb 5/10

Only lasted 17 minutes before being withdrawn due to injury. Retained the ball better than most in the early phase of the game. Perhaps unfortunate not to score after a mazy run through the box in the 13th minute.

Substitutes

Phil Foden – 6.5/10

By Foden’s incredibly lofty standards, this performance was nothing spectacular. As with everyone else, he did everything required in an extremely comfortable performance. Unlucky not to score with one or two good chances, denied more by good goalkeeping than through any fault of his own.

Matheus Nunes – 6/10

Helped to manage the game well, doing everything that will have been expected of him when subbed on.

Bernardo Silva – 6/10

Much like Nunes, managed the last 25 minutes in the ways we’ve all come to expect of the captain.

Josko Gvardiol – 6/10

Comfortable at the back with very little to do defensively. A needed injection of energy along the backline, replaced O’Reilly on the left seamlessly.

Charlie Gray – N/A

Had very little to do, only appearing from the 82nd minute. Hopefully, the first appearance of many for the 19-year-old midfielder.