Manchester City have progressed to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup for the first time since winning the competition back in 2021 after beating Brentford 2-0, which included a stunning opener from Rayan Cherki.
But the game was not without incident as, before Cherki’s excellent opener, Brentford felt as if Abdukodir Khusanov should have seen red for a last-ditch foul on Kevin Schade. Referee Samuel Barrott had a perfect view of the incident and only deemed it to be a yellow card offence, with VAR not in operation.
“It was poor defending from Khusanov,” said Andy Hinchcliffe on Sky Sports’ live coverage. “It was a clear foul, he was in on goal. For me, it should have been a red card.”
Instead of being buoyed by the perceived injustice, though, the Bees fell disappointingly flat, unable to test stand-in goalkeeper James Trafford – who received a vote of confidence from Pep Guardiola before the game after becoming unsettled since losing his place to Gianluigi Donnarumma.
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Rayan Cherki fired Manchester City ahead against Brentford with a powerful finish in the Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at the Etihad Stadium
Eventually Keith Andrews’ side woke up only to be sucker-punched by Savinho midway through the second period, linking smartly with Phil Foden before sending a looping, deflected shot over the top of a stranded Hakon Valdimarsson. What looked a tricky assignment on paper turned out to be comfortable in reality, with much-changed City joining Chelsea in the final four.
They are set to play a staggering nine matches across four different competitions during a packed January schedule, including Premier League meetings with Chelsea and Manchester United.
Man City’s January fixtures:
Thursday January 1: Sunderland vs Man City – Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
Sunday January 4: Man City vs Chelsea – Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports
Wednesday January 7: Man City vs Brighton – Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm
Saturday January 10: Man City vs Exeter City – FA Cup third round, kick-off 3pm
W/c January 12: Carabao Cup semi-final first leg
Saturday January 17: Man Utd vs Man City – Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports
Tuesday January 20: Bodo/Glimt vs Man City – Champions League, kick-off 5.45pm
Saturday January 24: Man City vs Wolves – Premier League, kick-off 3pm
Wednesday January 28: Man City vs Galatasaray – Champions League, kick-off 8pm
