Full Time: Manchester City 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Man City won 3-1 on penalties)
Manchester City remain in the Carabao Cup solely because of Claudio Bravo’s heroics in the penalty shootout. The goalkeeper pulled off three excellent saves to deny Championship leaders Wolves in both normal and extra time, as the visitors looked to catch City on the break.
Pep Guardiola’s team enjoyed more possession but they failed to do anything with that. Although they won the game, this will come off as a disappointing performance for City, especially since they were held goal-less for 120 minutes by the Wolves.
Manchester City Player Ratings
Claudio Bravo – 10/10
Bravo has received his fair share of criticism but last night, Manchester City won only, and only because of him. Three vital one-on-one stops kept the scores level, before he made two penalty saves to deny the Wolves.
Danilo – 6.5/10
Summer acquisition Danilo got a chance to start but he did not make a strong case for himself. He was solid at times but clumsy for the most of it.
Tosin Adarabioyo – 8.5/10
The youngster – despite his lack of experience – looked quite solid at the heart of City’s defence. He was quite confident and his tackles frustrated the opposition.
Eliaquim Mangala – 5/10
The player was out of depth and it was shocking to see Mangala falter so bad against a Championship side – even if they are the leaders. He was out-muscled on several occasions which led to a couple of wasteful moments.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 7/10
The debutant seemed comfortable and put in a relatively solid display.
Yaya Toure – 6/10
Toure would have gotten full points for his effort but the lack of effectiveness of those efforts is what made things tough for him in the midfield.
Ilkay Gundogan – 6.5/10
Gundogan contributed with some incisive, driving runs while going forward but he could not outplay any of his counterparts.
Raheem Sterling – 7/10
Sterling’s pace helped him cut into the Wolves defence a couple of times but he failed to do much due to lack of support from his teammates.
Bernardo Silva – 6/10
Renowned for his creativity, Silva failed to live up to his billing as he looked shoddy and failed to find the final ball on several occasions.
Gabriel Jesus – 5/10
Wolves were tightly packed at the back and Jesus found it tough to break in. It was a rather quiet night for the forward.
Sergio Aguero – 7/10
Aguero kept trying to make things work in the first-half but after the break it seemed like even he had given up hope. However, his penalty strike was quite impressive.
Subs:
Kevin de Bruyne – 6.5/10
The midfielder lacked creativity and took time to settle in, which may not have been what Guardiola sent him there for.
John Stones – 7/10
Stones brought in stability in an otherwise weak City defence.
Leroy Sane – 7.5/10
Sane was speedy and almost got close to breaking the deadlock towards the end.
Kyle Walker – N/A
Replaced Danilo in the 103rd minute.