Five Things Learned: Manchester City 2-1 Watford (Carabao Cup Third Round)

Manchester City advanced to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, defeating Watford 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Following a weekend of mixed emotions, the Sky Blues diverted attentions to the third round of the Carabao Cup, as they hosted Watford just over 48 hours after a fiery clash with Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the heavily rotated team for Manchester City, many fans were expecting a drubbing in this one given the gulf in class and astonishing head-to-head record between the two clubs. Accordingly, the match started in an expected fashion.

Following some tidy footwork from Jack Grealish, the ball landed at the feet of Jeremy Doku, who shimmied one way and shot the other, firing the ball past a helpless Jonathan Bond in the Watford goal giving City the lead after just five minutes.

However, the away side slowly found their rhythm in the game and managed to do something Arsenal couldn’t in the second-half of Sunday’s game, crossing the half-way line and even putting the ball into the Manchester City net.

Celebrations were short lived though, as referee David Webb deemed that Kwadwo Baah was too firm in the challenge on Kaden Braithwaite, disallowing the goal for a foul on the 16-year-old.

The misery was piled on the away side shortly after, when Matheus Nunes fired a rocket from distance on his weaker left foot, arrowing into the bottom left corner to double the hosts’ advantage.

Into the second half, and Manchester City had chance after chance, hitting the woodwork and having a shot cleared off the line, with Savinho particularly unlucky to not find his name on the scoresheet.

With five minutes to go, the visitors did manage to put the cat amongst the pigeons, with a lovely passage of play leading to a goal, with Tom Ince curling one from distance past a helpless Stefan Ortega Moreno in goal.

However, that was all she wrote, as Manchester City advanced into the next round of the Carabao Cup, to face an opponent which will be revealed during the draw on Wednesday night. Before then, here are Five Things We Learned from City’s 2-1 win over Watford!

A refreshing result after a strange week

From the absurdity of the ticket prices versus Inter last week, to facing a low-block Jose Mourinho even would’ve turned his nose up at, it has been a difficult week for the fans of Manchester City.

Compile that with the long-term injury of key player Rodri on Sunday, the victory over Watford cleansed the pallet for fans, with an opportunity to watch academy players thrive and see some important minutes for players on the bring of a regular starting spot this season.

With Newcastle away being the next challenge on the horizon, Tuesday’s win was a nice confidence booster going into that one, as Manchester City look to regain some composure and momentum going into this long season.

Some question marks over Phil Foden?

It feels harsh to judge a player who made his first start of the season, but Phil Foden’s performance on Tuesday night was somewhat lacklustre, which is a testament to his standards more than anything.

Several Manchester City fans expressed their concern over the form of Foden on social media, but the reality is that we’re talking about last season’s PFA and Premier League Player of the Year, and writing him off at this point is a dangerous game to play.

A renaissance for Matheus Nunes?

Despite not even cracking a smile after his goal, Matheus Nunes must’ve been the most relieved man in the stadium when his effort beat the goalkeeper from distance, after Pep Guardiola was visibly frustrated with the Portuguese international in the first half.

Given the injury to Rodri, Nunes may have a bigger part to play in this season, and Tuesday’s goal and overall performance may be the confidence booster he needs to show Guardiola he can be relied on when necessary this season.

A successful night for the CFA

With five academy graduates starring in Manchester City’s win, including 16-year-old Kaden Braithwaite, the City Football Academy were the stars of the show at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

James Mcatee, Nico O’Reilly and Kaden Braithwaite all made their first start at home for the club, and Jacob Wright appeared from the bench, while Rico Lewis and Phil Foden in particular can be considered as senior experienced players in comparison.

Rico Lewis might be the answer to life without Rodri

Starting in his so-called natural position of right-back on Tuesday, Rico Lewis was excellent once more, with the defender proving to Pep Guardiola he is an invaluable asset to Manchester City this season.

Lewis isn’t limited to where he can play in this side, and his role often finds him coming into midfield, something he will have to do given the absence of Rodri for a long spell of this season.

The versatility of Rico Lewis may be his biggest attribute, while the tenacity and desire to get stuck in all combined will certainly make Pep Guardiola’s life easier, as he looks to answer the burning question of what to do without Rodri.