Huddersfield Town 0-2 Manchester City: Foden stars as Citizens cruise to round four | OneFootball

Phil Foden was scorer and creator as Pep Guardiola’s side breezed past third-tier Huddersfield Town to claim their spot in the Carabao Cup’s fourth round.

As it happened

Not so long ago, Manchester City were the unfailing victors of this competition. Between 2017 and 2021 they lifted the trophy four times on the spin, managing an unmatched streak of 21 ties without defeat. It was bound to be a mammoth task for The Terriers. Lee grant’s side came into this tie with just one win in their last four league games.

Despite this, the homes side started well and managed to carve out a few opportunities. Aston Villa loanee Zépiqueno Redmond saw his effort sail over the crossbar after the ball fell to him on the edge of the box. Captain Ben Wiles also had an effort on goal early on, but his strike dragged wide of the post.

Despite this early pressure, it wasn’t long before Guardiola’s side took charge of proceedings and began to dominate the ball. The Spaniard had come under fire for his seemingly defensive tactics displayed against Arsenal at the weekend. However, The Citizens looked their old selves as they racked up 76% possession and amassed 68 touches in the oppositions penalty area.

City’s early patience and pressure was rewarded when Phil Foden broke the deadlock with a low driven effort from just outside the box. This came as a result of quick passing play with academy graduate Divine Mukasa. Foden was gleaming with confidence after this, the 25-year-old controlled the tempo of the game afterwards, coming close to doubling his tally for the night after a near 30-yard free-kick grazed the top of the Huddersfield crossbar.

This fixture came amidst a six game run in 18 days for Guardiola’s side so a largely changed side was fieleded, including a return to the starting line-up for goalkeeper James Trafford. The England international looked comfortable throughout and offered confidence and assurance to the back line throughout.

The youngsters further up the pitch were helped by Foden. City continued to create and trouble the Huddersfield defence, looking to make their superior quality count. The Citizens were also looking to improve on their form in the latest iterations of the competition, having previously exited the cup in the third and fourth round.

Their patience prevailed 16 minutes from time as Foden made his quality count again. The 25-year-old squeezed a pass through to winger Savinho who crashed his shot past a helpless Nicholls to dampen any doubt of a shock result.

The scoreline didn’t deter the hosts and they could count themselves unlucky to not get on the scoresheet. Substitute Cameron Ashia saw a brilliant curling effort rattle back off the inside of James Trafford’s post. However, the young English keeper managed to cap off an impressive display with a clean sheet.

City will travel to Championship side Swansea City in the next round of the Carabao Cup.

The lineups

HUD: Nicholls; Sorensen, Feeney, Wallace, Roughan; Vost, Kasumu; Harness, Wiles, Redmond; Charles

MCI: Trafford; Nunes, Stones, Ake, O’Reilly; Lewis; Bobb, Foden, González, Savinho; Mukasa