The League Cup is a cup competition which has lost its credibility in recent years with the major teams playing weakened sides. However, Manchester City’s third round tie with Sunderland on Tuesday night proved that The Blues were a team taking the competition seriously. With the front four of Navas, Sterling, De Bruyne and Aguero starting, it was clear Pellegrini sees this competition as a chance to win some silverware. Alfter with the 2-1 loss to West Ham last week, the manager saw this game as a chance to get a winning mentality back into the players who were still thinking about the Juventus defeat in midweek.
The match ended 4-1 to Manchester City against a side who is bottom of the Premier League. Aguero, De Bruyne and Sterling got goals along with an own goal from Sunderland’s goalkeeper Mannone after the ball bounced off him into the net. Despite Sunderland’s consolation goal in the second half, it was clear City’s quality shined through and hopefully this is a sign for forthcoming performances in the league and Champions League.
Even though it was great seeing City field a strong team, the majority of travelling fans were hoping for a more youth focused team with a sprinkling of experience. Instead we only saw the appearances of three youth players. The recently acquired midfielder Patrick Roberts made his first team debut in the 55th minute replacing Navas and he impressed. Looking calm and composed on the ball, Roberts is certainly one for the future. The potential of Roberts has generated even more excitement as it will be a change to see a homegrown player blossom in a team which has been criticised for being full of players from abroad.
Sergio Aguero made way for Manu Garcia in the 74th minute and despite not getting on the score sheet, Garcia made a solid debut, but the one player which City fans were most proud of was George Evans who replaced Yaya Toure in the 89th minute. Making his first team debut, Evans is now a player who has played from the age of six for the club and has worked his way up through every youth team to now the first team. Plus, Evans has always been a City fan which is why City fans have cherished him and were immensely proud when he stepped onto the pitch.
During this post match interview with CityTV it was clear that Evans was delighted with his debut. The interview can be found here: http://bcove.me/irxmwcxr.
Just being around the first team squad will be a huge benefit to these youth players as they will be able to gain insight and advice on how to develop their footballing ability, so hopefully City fans will be able to see more of them in competitions such as the League Cup. Along with a major emphasis on youth development, Pellegrini has a great pool of talent to choose from when creating the squads, but judging by the match against Sunderland, Pellegrini is wanting to make a trip to Wembley come February 2016.
