Manchester City advanced to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a mostly comfortable 2-1 victory over Watford, despite a late scare and naming 16-year-old debutant Kaden Braithwaite in defence.
It’s been a tough couple of days for Manchester City, who were forced to play just 48 hours on from the draining draw with Arsenal on Sunday.
The tight turnaround meant Pep Guardiola was forced to ring the changes, with Kyle Walker and Jeremy Doku the only players to keep their places in the side.
It was the Belgian who scored the opener after just five minutes before Mathues Nunes doubled the lead with a fine finish later in the half.
City should have cruised to victory with Nunes, Savinho and Jack Grealish all having golden chances to score and they were made to sweat for their lack of cutting edge when Tom Ince halved the deficit late on with a curling strike.
Watford pressed for a late leveller but City held on for the win and will be in the hat for Wednesday’s draw.
Stefan Ortega – 6
Had nothing to do until Tom Ince curled one into the far corner and there was nothing he could do about that. A wayward kick nearly played City into trouble, though.
Rico Lewis – 7
Again looked his best on the right flank, attacking with verve all night and picking up an assist for Nunes’ goal.
Kyle Walker – 6
Kyle Walker lost Vakoun Issouf Bayo for Watford’s best chance of the first half and was lucky the striker didn’t stick his header away. However, he asserted himself well in an unfamiliar centre-back role.
John Stones – 7
A quietly composed performance in which he was the glue that held a young and ramshackle defence together.
Kaden Braithwaite – 6
Kaden Braithwaite was impressively confident on the ball and looked at home in City’s system on his debut, already positioning himself well in the back-line at left-back.
The youngster was outwitted and outmuscled by Kwadwo Baah and was fortunate to see the Watford striker’s goal ruled out for a harsh foul, but that was the only misstep in his performance.
He went off after 75 minutes after suffering a bout of cramp but earned a well-deserved applause.
Matheus Nunes – 7
Matheus Nunes hasn’t had many chances this season but he has made his mark with his rare minutes on the field, with his fine strike following his great assist against West Ham. Only some good goalkeeping stopped him from getting two.
Nunes looked positive on the ball and dangerous in the box but Guardiola was repeatedly and visibly frustrated by some of his decision-making on the ball.
Nico O’Reilly – 6
Tidy feet and recycled the ball well on his second appearance for the club but got overran at points when Watford countered.
Almost certainly won’t be the one to replace Rodri but could see his minutes increase due to the injury, so he needed to have a confident display. Operated really nicely in some tight spaces.
James McAtee – 6
Not only did James McAtee do well to read the play and press the goalkeeper to win the ball back for the first goal, but he made the right decision with his pass afterwards.
With midfield spots potentially up for grabs, City’s squad players have a real chance to step up and claim a starting space and James McAtee showed he is good enough on the ball and works hard enough to make the step up.
Jeremy Doku – 7
Jeremy Doku opened the scoring with a lovely dragged finish into the corner for his first goal of the season and was a lively threat throughout on the right. Correctly taken off at the break after playing 70 minutes on Sunday.
Phil Foden – 5
Deployed in the False 9 role, it was a pretty quiet night for Phil Foden as he continues to try and find his rhythm. His biggest contribution was losing the ball clumsily in the middle, which launched a dangerous Watford counter.
It’s been a slow and disrupted start to the season and it feels like he still needs some more minutes to get back to his best.
Jack Grealish – 8
That’s another assist to Jack Grealish’s name after his ingenuity sparked the late leveller against Arsenal.
City’s No.10 continues to look really sharp this season and was constantly angling to attack the full-backs with skill and pace. It’s like he’s got his spark back.
With incisive passing and exciting trickery – as well as some hard work in the other direction – Grealish was at the heart of City’s good forward play and has earned his spot in the starting XI going forward.
Substitutes
Savinho – 7
Unfortunate to see a goal-bound shot headed right off the line and then another effort bounce back off the post after carrying the ball the length of the pitch as his first City goal continued to elude him.
Yet, it was another live wire display on the flank from Savinho and he also should have gotten an assist but the Grealish shot he teed up was well-saved.
Jacob Wright – 6
Jacob Wright got his first appearance of the season in the 72nd minute after making a couple of cameos last term. He moved the ball around nicely when it came his way.
Josko Gvardiol – 6
Perhaps could have got closer to Ince for the goal.
