Which Man City bench boy took his chance v Brentford? One defender ‘should’ve been sent off’ | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City bench boys had a point to prove against Brentford on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup. But did they?

Thomas Frank won one of his four trips to the Etihad as Brentford manager, and his replacement, Keith Andrews, was hoping to make it one from one on Wednesday night.

Unlike Frank’s Brentford, Andrews’ Brentford faced Man City away from home in the Carabao Cup.

Wednesday’s fixture gave Guardiola the chance to rotate and hand starts to some fringe players, though regulars Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijnders and Nico O’Reilly were all named in the starting XI.

The last time Guardiola rotated so heavily was in the Champions League against Bayer Leverkusen, and that went extremely poorly, with City losing 2-0 on the night, despite it being a ‘back-up’ side that cost a combined £435million in transfer fees.

The first goal was always going to be crucial and, when it came, jaws hit the floor across the country.

Rayan Cherki’s belting strike put City ahead, and a comeback always felt unlikely.

So, City have progressed to the last four of the Carabao Cup. Which of Guardiola’s fringe players took their chance against Brentford? Here is some England-player-ratings-style analysis of how James Trafford, Rico Lewis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nathan Ake, Oscar Bobb, Savinho and Divine Mukasa got on.

James Trafford

An incredible long pass almost created a goal, quickly reminding everyone how different he and Gianluigi Donnarumma are. Brilliant distribution, short and long. Made a decent but comfortable save from a Matias Jensen free-kick early on. There were some moments with the ball at his feet that showed a lack of confidence; he went long more often than short. Made another decent save denied Kristoffer Ajer, but it was all very comfortable, with shots from range the only attempts Brentford could really muster. However, a goalkeeper can only face what’s put on target, and Trafford dealt with everything accordingly.

Won’t be displacing Donnarumma any time soon. But we knew that already.

Rico Lewis

An outstanding, well-timed sliding tackle in the box was his first major contribution. He looked pretty sharp throughout and certainly staked a claim moving forward.

Abdukodir Khusanov

Brentford wanted a red card against Khusanov after only 16 minutes when Kevin Schade was wiped out with a potential one-on-one. Khusanov was probably lucky that there was no VAR until the semi-finals. Nathan Ake’s presence helped him, but he was fortunate nonetheless.

Former Premier League referee Keith Hackett reckons Khusanov should’ve been sent for an early bath.

Aside from that, Khusanov was on hand to once again display his elite recovery pace, something Kyle Walker bailed Man City out with time and time again. Overall, it was a decent night for the young Uzbek, who is proving himself a solid option at both centre-back and right-back.

Nathan Ake

Positioned himself well enough for Khusanov to avoid a red card, which was a bigger contribution than it needed to be. It was a relatively comfortable night for Ake, who should be a starter in both legs of the semi-final if fit.

Divine Mukasa

His 56 touches were the second-lowest of any City outfielder to play more than 20 minutes. It would be safe to say that he didn’t take his chance, though it would have had to be something rather spectacular for Mukasa to be considered for Premier League and Champions League selection, even while Omar Marmoush is at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Oscar Bobb

Should have scored in the 14th minute – a good run and dribbling to cut inside, but his shot was tame. He received treatment after Khusanov’s yellow-card foul and came off for Phil Foden. A disastrous cameo, and now we have to wait and see how long he’s out for.

Savinho

Savinho is quite a clumsy player, but we’ll put that down to a lack of confidence and rhythm. His final product was again lacking cutting edge. He is very quick, though, we’ll give him that. Was it his goal for 2-0? Probably. But the deflection was why it went in, and the wind was definitely a factor as well. We’re not intentionally putting him down, we promise.

Guardiola will be pleased he got his name on the teamsheet, but he would have expected more with Jeremy Doku out injured. Erling Haaland wasn’t needed on Wednesday, so he, Foden and Cherki should start against West Ham on Saturday, just as they did in Sunday’s 3-0 win at Crystal Palace.