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Manchester City and Liverpool played out a five-goal thriller, with Pep Guardiola’s side overcoming the encounter to advance to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
City took the lead three times during the game thanks to goals from Erling Haaland Riayd Mahrez and Nathan Ake. While Fabio Carvalho and Mohamed Salah scored to equalize for Liverpool, it wasn’t enough to prevent the starters from being left out of contention.
Here’s how both groups of players qualified at the Etihad Stadium, as City now prepare for the quarter-final in Southampton following Thursday night’s draw.
Nathan Ake celebrates at full time after Manchester City’s 3-2 win over Liverpool
Manchester City (4-3-3)
Stephen Ortega – He faced two shots on goal and missed neither of them. He wasn’t at fault for either one, but in other areas he was a little reckless when he ran off his line to punt. 6
rich lewis – Strong and combative, but he was poor positionally, he was exposed several times defending the right side of City’s flank. 6.5
manuel akanji – A little erratic and will have to improve to become a regular in the back line. Replaced by John Stones after taking a minor hit. 7
Aymeric Laporte – Had the advantage over Salah for most of the night but still couldn’t stop the Reds from scoring in two central positions. 6.5
Nathan Ake- He stood out more on the left and although he did not stand out defensively, he was excellent attacking areas, scoring with a header and going very close with another. 7
kevin debruyne – Fears that he was out of shape soon allayed after a poor World Cup with Belgium. He played two excellent assists and created five chances overall with some wonderful passes. 8
Kevin De Bruyne was excellent in midfield with his creativity creating five chances overall
Rodri – He was key to winning the midfield battle that forced Klopp to poke and switch in the middle of the field. He fought Fabinho at the end and ended up getting booked. 7
Ilkay Gundogan – Put himself in a good position to put City up 2-1 in the first half only to have his shot blocked. He continued to play but was lucky to escape Fabinho and Rodri’s clash without penalty after shoving the Reds midfielder. 7
Riad Mahrez – He rarely came into the game, but his first touch for the second goal was sublime and perfect enough to allow him to double through the net. 6.5
Erling Haaland – Straight into action with an elevated effort after 20 seconds, but finally hit an opportunistic volley to put City ahead. He seemed less threatening in the second half. 7
It took Erling Haaland just 10 minutes to rediscover his goalscoring form for Manchester City
cole palmer – The quietest of Manchester City’s attackers and the youngster seldom saw the ball before it came out in the second half. 5.5
SUBSTITUTES
juan stones – He had a calming effect after his introduction and Liverpool rarely threatened once he was back alongside Laporte in central defence. 6.5
Phil Foden – He gave half an hour after the World Cup and almost scored, with his effort near the post well saved by Kelleher. 6
Jack Grealish – Came on alongside Foden and although he wasn’t heavily involved, he looked orderly to ensure City remained in control in attack. 6
Liverpool (4-1-4-1)
Caoimhin Kelleher – Made a series of clever saves to deny Foden and Ake, but was left in no man’s land after just 20 seconds when Haaland squandered an early chance. 6
james milner – A bad night for the veteran. He struggled to contain De Bruyne on the right flank before being sent off in the first half with injury. Although he helped Carvalho’s goal. 6.5
James Milner largely endured a difficult night before having to go off injured
Joel Matip The most assertive of the Liverpool centre-back and it was his forward pass that resulted in Liverpool’s first equalizer and got their game going after a poor opening. 7
jose gomez – He lost in his battle with Haaland. He was caught off guard trying to defend the center of the striker’s goal and should never have won the ball from him. 5.5
andy robertson – Couldn’t fully prevail over Lewis, but the Scotsman had some success attacking the left flank. 6.5
Thiago – He lost the ball in midfield for City’s second goal and never quite got into the game as the midfield cut and shifted around him before he, too, got hooked. 6.5
Stefan Bajcetic – Booked for a wrestling-style takedown to try to prevent a Liverpool attack. The 18-year-old was substituted at half time as Klopp desperately tried to regain control of midfield. 5
harvey eliott – Error free but had little influence on proceedings before giving way to the experienced Henderson seconds before City’s third goal. 6.5
Mohamed Salah was ready to grab his goal, but he struggled to prevail in the game
Mohamed Salah – Strange afternoon for the striker who never seemed to be at his best and still found himself on the scoreboard with a smart finish inside the area. 7
Darwin Nunez – Deserves credit for assisting Salah’s goal after a great run, but he was terrible in front of goal after dragging down three great chances deflected. 5
fabio carvalho – Another half-time outing, but he enjoyed his 45 minutes, sweeping their first equalizer well and playing a couple of progressive forward passes that won’t hurt his future first-team chances. 7
SUBSTITUTES
phillips – He was no more effective in stopping De Bruyne than Milner, but the Belgian was unplayable at times and impossible to defend against. 6
Fabinho – Brought some muscle and punch to midfield to limit City’s overall dominance, though not enough to alter the momentum of the game. 6.5
Darwin Núñez missed three key chances for Liverpool on their way to defeat at the Etihad
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Put City’s defense under pressure early in the second half and on another day could have been awarded a soft penalty after going down on contact inside the box. 6.5
jordan henderson – He couldn’t do much to get Liverpool back into the game, but it was still a good half hour for him to find his groove with the Reds after the World Cup. 6
naby keita – He was no better than Thiago after replacing the midfielder with 20 minutes remaining. 6