It finally happened. Manchester City lost a Carabao Cup game for the first time since 2016. As a result, the competition will crown a new winner for the first time in five years next February. Quadruple reigning champions City lost on penalties to West Ham United after a goalless draw, their first defeat since a 1-0 reverse at Old Trafford on October 26th, 2016. Between the two games, Manchester City won or progressed from 21 straight matches, a record in the competition.
Recap
Despite some rotation, City still fielded a very strong team in their matchup against the Hammers. The likes of Kyle Walker, Fernandinho, Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, and Riyad Mahrez all started. And as expected, Pep Guardiola’s men started strong and dominated proceedings throughout. However, they failed to make their chances count, ending the 90 minutes with two thirds possession and 25 shots, seven of them on target, but no goals. With no extra time to be played in the Carabao Cup, the game went straight to penalties. West Ham kicked off the shootout with captain Mark Noble, who made no mistake to put his team ahead. Phil Foden then placed his shot wide of the post, giving the Hammers the advantage. No other player missed their spot kick, and Saïd Benrahma eventually scored the winning goal, ending the game with a 5-3 scoreline.
West Ham will now advance to the quarter finals of the competition, alongside Arsenal, Brentford, Chelsea, Leicester City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, and Sunderland. The draw will take place on Saturday, at 10:30 a.m. UK time and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, their social media, and the Carabao Cup’s official twitter account. The quarter-final matches will take place during the week commencing December 20th.
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[…] has not been a good week for Manchester City. First, there was the Carabao Cup exit, their first since 2016. Then, Wilfried Zaha put Crystal Palace ahead only six minutes into the […]