Manchester City Reach Carabao Cup Semi-Finals with 2-0 Win Over Brentford
Manchester City secured a 2-0 victory against Brentford at the Etihad Stadium to advance to the Carabao Cup semi-finals. Rayan Cherki opened the scoring near the edge of the box, delivering an excellent goal despite Guardiola noting that Cherki did not have an overall strong performance.
Savinho extended City's lead with a left-flank run and a deflected finish past Brentford goalkeeper Valdimarsson in the second half, maintaining control of the match.
City will face Newcastle United in the semi-finals, with the first leg scheduled to take place at St James' Park and the return leg set for early February. The Carabao Cup final is planned for 22 March at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola fielded a mixed XI including Nico González, Nico O'Reilly, and Tijjani Reijnders. Oscar Bobb was forced off after 18 minutes due to a muscular problem, with Phil Foden coming on as his replacement. Nathan Aké started as captain, identified by Guardiola as the senior figure for the evening following the Bayer Leverkusen defeat.
Brentford applied pressure during the match, with goalkeeper James Trafford saving a Mathias Jensen free-kick. Brentford defender Abdukodir Khusanov received a booking after fouling Kevin Schade.
