Home Entertainment Manchester City Dominates Watford 2-1 | Man City Struggles Against 2nd Division Team in Haaland’s Absence

Manchester City Dominates Watford 2-1 | Man City Struggles Against 2nd Division Team in Haaland’s Absence

Entertainment — 09/25/2024

Using nearly half of the main squad, home team Man City only narrowly won against Watford in the third round of the League Cup.

Man City beat Watford for the 16th consecutive match, but their victory this time was not easy. In the last minute, the visitors almost equalized with a shot from midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze, but Jack Grealish appeared at the right time to clear the ball, sending the home team into the fourth round.

In the 4th minute, Doku opened the score with a low shot with his right foot - Photo: Man City

Grealish also stood out in the match, setting up Jeremy Doku for the opener in the fifth minute. Receiving the ball on the left side of the penalty area, the England international passed it to Doku, who controlled it before firing low into the left corner of the net.

In addition to Doku and Grealish, coach Pep Guardiola also started Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden, not to mention Josko Gvardiol and Savinho in the second half. But not Grealish, the “Player of the match” award went to the supporting actor Matheus Nunes. It was the Portuguese midfielder who scored the second goal with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area to the post, marking his first goal for Man City.

Minute 38, Nunes doubled the gap for the home team - Photo: Man City

Man City are currently number one in the world, according to the Opta power index, while Watford are at 330th place. It is understandable that Guardiola’s army dominated the situation, at times keeping the ball up to 80% of the time. However, they seemed to play subjectively towards the end of the match. In the 86th minute, midfielder Tom Ince received the ball on the edge of the penalty area, curled his left foot into the far corner, not strong but dangerous enough to beat Stefan Ortega.

Watford’s goal came from their first shot on goal. In the remaining minutes, the visitors tried to find an equalizer but failed.

At the end of the match, Tom Ince shortened the gap to 1-2 - Photo: Watford

The fourth round of the League Cup will feature 16 teams, with the draw taking place on the evening of September 25. There have been no surprises as strong teams such as Man Utd, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man City have advanced, while Arsenal and Liverpool will play tonight.

Match statistics

Competition list

Man City: Ortega Moreno, Walker, Stones, Braithwaite (Gvardiol 76), Lewis, O’Reilly (Wright 73), Nunes, McAtee, Doku (Savinho 46), Grealish, Foden.

Watford: Bond, Porteous, Ogbonna, Morris, Ebosele, Larouci (Dele-Bashiru 61), Ince, Louza (Dwomoh 83), Sema, Bayo (Chakvetadze 61), Baah.