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365footballorg-blog · 6 years ago

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Oxford United 0-3 Manchester City: Carabao Cup holders see off League One strugglers

Manchester City’s Phil Foden produced a masterclass and scored his first senior goal as they cruised past Oxford United in the Carabao Cup third round at the Kassam Stadium.

The 18-year-old, who is tipped for a golden future with club and country, ran the show as City eventually overpowered the League One strugglers to ease to victory.

City manager Pep Guardiola made 10 changes from the side that won 5-0 at Cardiff City at the weekend and kept £256m worth of talent on the bench – but still had enough to win without ever being threatened.

Gabriel Jesus’ close-range header gave them the lead at half-time and City gave the scoreline a more realistic look as Oxford, second from bottom in League One, understandably tired late on.

Foden, who had helped create Jesus’ opener, produced a superb pass to put Riyad Mahrez clear for his third goal in two games, then got the reward his performance deserved with a perfect low drive with virtually the last kick of the game.

Foden shows his class

Guardiola took the opportunity to give Foden a rare start – and how he delivered.

And while the youngster’s performance must be placed in the context of the opposition, Foden still showed enough touches of quality to hint at the bright future everyone at City expects.

Foden, who many sound judges believe will be swiftly elevated to senior England status if he can force his way into City’s team, was heavily involved throughout, his slight figure comfortable in possession and with enough of a turn of pace to drift through the crowded areas in midfield.

He was always willing to take responsibility, knit play together and act as the fulcrum of City’s team.

It was his exquisite 40-yard pass that picked out Brahim Diaz in the build-up to Jesus’s opener and he could, perhaps should, have had a goal himself when he shot into the side-netting at the far post in the second half but he more than made up for that.

He started to make amends shortly afterwards with another superb diagonal pass to release Mahrez to finish the game off and also brought a fine save from Oxford goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell with a rising drive.

It was fitting he provided the final flourish with that crisp left-foot drive that completed the formalities. It was richly deserved.

Foden must fight his way past Guardiola’s embarrassment of riches before he takes that next crucial step in his career but there is no question it will happen and his manager clearly has great faith in his ability.

Struggling Oxford can take heart

No-one seriously expected a shock here – Oxford have only won one of their first nine league games, losing six.

Manager Karl Robinson is fighting to avoid a season of struggle and admitted before kick-off that his team selection was shaped by the importance of Oxford’s visit to AFC Wimbledon this Saturday.

The U’s came into this game low on confidence off the back of a home loss to Walsall and there was never any point when they looked like making a dent in City’s vast armoury.

Where struggling Robinson can take heart, even though the gap in quality was vast, obvious and understandable, was in the fighting spirit his team showed.

It took 78 minutes before City got the second to snuff out any chance of an unlikely upset, testimony to the determination and last-ditch defending Oxford produced despite being outclassed – as indeed many Premier League teams have been before them.

Robinson would have known victory would only have been in his wildest dreams but he can at least take solace from how his side stuck to their task to deserved the warm applause they got from their fans at the final whistle.

Mahrez settling in

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Mahrez has eased his way into life at City after his £60m summer move from Leicester – but in the last two games has shown signs of the quality that persuaded Guardiola to pay that sum.

The man who helped inspire Leicester’s title win in 2016 got off the mark with two goals in the 5-0 win at Cardiff City on Saturday and while some of his finishing was wayward here, he made no mistake with an emphatic finish when played clear by Foden.

Mahrez adds width and added unpredictability and will prove his worth as the season continues.

Man of the match – Phil Foden (Man City)

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Line-ups[1]

Match Stats[2]

Live Text[3]

Line-ups

Oxford Utd

41Mitchell

23Long

5Nelson

4DickieBooked at 82mins

3GarbuttBooked at 37mins

8BrannaganSubstituted forRuffelsat 55'minutes

26Baptiste

16Whyte

6HansonSubstituted forHenryat 67'minutes

12HolmesSubstituted forSmithat 77'minutes

20Obika

Substitutes

9Smith

13Shearer

14Ruffels

15Mousinho

17Henry

22Raglan

29McMahon

Man City

49Muric

4Kompany

30Otamendi

5Stones

3DaniloBooked at 64mins

47Foden

21SilvaSubstituted forGündoganat 63'minutes

35Zinchenko

26MahrezSubstituted forBernabeat 85'minutes

33Gabriel Jesus

55DiazSubstituted forSterlingat 55'minutes

Substitutes

2Walker

7Sterling

8Gündogan

14Laporte

19Sané

31Ederson

82Bernabe

Referee:

Roger East

Attendance:

11,956

Match Stats

Home TeamOxford UtdAway TeamMan City

Possession

Home29%

Away71%

Shots

Home1

Away27

Shots on Target

Home0

Away7

Corners

Home1

Away11

Fouls

Home12

Away9

Live Text

Posted at

Match ends, Oxford United 0, Manchester City 3.

Full Time

Posted at 90'+4'

Second Half ends, Oxford United 0, Manchester City 3.

Posted at 90'+4'

Foul by Raheem Sterling (Manchester City).

Posted at 90'+4'

Luke Garbutt (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Goal!

Posted at 90'+2'

Goal! Oxford United 0, Manchester City 3. Phil Foden (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.

Posted at 90'+1'

Adrian Bernabe (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Posted at 90'+1'

Foul by James Henry (Oxford United).

Posted at 90'

Attempt blocked. Adrian Bernabe (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.

Posted at 90'

Attempt saved. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.

Posted at 88'

Attempt missed. Vincent Kompany (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right following a corner.

Posted at 88'

Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Jonathan Mitchell.

Posted at 88'

Attempt saved. Phil Foden (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top right corner.

Posted at 86'

John Stones (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 86'

Foul by Shandon Baptiste (Oxford United).

Substitution

Posted at 85'

Substitution, Manchester City. Adrian Bernabe replaces Riyad Mahrez.

Posted at 85'

Attempt blocked. Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.

Booking

Posted at 82'

Robert Dickie (Oxford United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Posted at 82'

Foul by Robert Dickie (Oxford United).

Posted at 82'

Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Goal!

Posted at 78'

Goal! Oxford United 0, Manchester City 2. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Phil Foden following a fast break.

Substitution

Posted at 77'

Substitution, Oxford United. Sam Smith replaces Ricky Holmes.

Posted at 76'

Delay in match Jonathan Mitchell (Oxford United) because of an injury.

Posted at 74'

Corner, Oxford United. Conceded by Nicolás Otamendi.

Posted at 72'

Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 72'

Foul by Josh Ruffels (Oxford United).

Posted at 72'

Attempt saved. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the bottom right corner.

Posted at 71'

Attempt missed. Phil Foden (Manchester City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is close, but misses to the left.

Posted at 70'

Attempt missed. Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.

Posted at 68'

Attempt missed. Ricky Holmes (Oxford United) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.

Substitution

Posted at 67'

Substitution, Oxford United. James Henry replaces Jamie Hanson.

Posted at 65'

Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Luke Garbutt.

Booking

Posted at 64'

Danilo (Manchester City) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

Posted at 64'

Foul by Danilo (Manchester City).

Posted at 64'

Shandon Baptiste (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Substitution

Posted at 63'

Substitution, Manchester City. Ilkay Gündogan replaces David Silva.

Posted at 62'

Foul by Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City).

Posted at 62'

(Oxford United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Posted at 62'

Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Ricky Holmes.

Posted at 60'

Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Luke Garbutt.

Posted at 58'

Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Show more updates

goal

References

^ Line-ups (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Match Stats (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Live Text (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Football

Oxford United 0-3 Manchester City: Carabao Cup holders see off League One strugglers was originally published on 365 Football

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