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RAYAN CHERKI’S SCREAMER PROPELS MANCHESTER CITY INTO CARABAO CUP FINAL FOUR VICTORY
Rayan Cherki’s stunning strike and a Savinho goal see Man City beat Brentford 2-0 to reach the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
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Manchester City advanced to the Carabao Cup semi-finals after a 2-0 victory against Brentford, thanks to Rayan Cherki's excellent first-half goal.
Cherki gave a moment to remember, rocketing a shot into the top corner after 32 minutes. Savinho then scored in the second half, with a lucky deflection, sealing City's place in the final four for the first time since they last won in 2021.
That was Cherki's fourth goal for City. The 22-year-old had a tough start to his City career due to an injury after his £30 million summer transfer from Lyon. He’s now finding his form and was the standout player until he was subbed off in the 66th minute.
City made seven changes from their 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, while Brentford made six after their 1-1 draw with Leeds. Both sides took some time to adjust to the rainy Manchester weather.
Once they settled, City began to press. Rico Henry blocked Oscar Bobb from a one-on-one chance, but on the next attack, slipped as the winger broke into the box, only to shoot straight at Hakon Valdimarsson.
That was Bobb's last action as he went down with a possible hamstring issue and was replaced by Phil Foden.
Brentford wanted a red card in the 16th minute, and they had a point. Abdukodir Khusanov's last-ditch effort brought down Kevin Schade as he was about to shoot from the edge of the box, but the referee only gave a yellow.
Because of Bobb's injury, Mathias Jensen had to wait to take a free kick that James Trafford pushed away.
Cherki was central to the city's best plays and made the game better in the 32nd minute.
Valdimarsson collided with Schade while heading away from Divine Mukasa's corner, but he only cleared it to Cherki. Cherki then stepped around Mikkel Damsgaard before firing a shot that Henry only helped into the top corner.
The Frenchman enjoyed the moment, doing Erling Haaland's robot and zen pose celebrations, earning a nod of approval from the Norwegian on the bench.
Brentford played better at the start of the second half. Kristoffer Ajer moved forward to hit a strong shot that Trafford pushed away, and from the resulting throw-in, Michael Kayode tested the goalkeeper from a difficult angle.
Schade then tried to get past Khusanov again, but this time the defender won.
Foden forced a save from Valdimarsson, but City weren't playing their best. Pep Guardiola made changes, with Bernardo Silva, Josko Gvardiol, and Matheus Nunes coming on for some players, including Cherki.
Soon after, Savinho made it 2-0, bursting forward onto Tijjani Reijnders' pass and beating Valdimarsson with a deflection off Ajer.
Mukasa and Savinho put Valdimarsson to the test again, but City had already done enough.
PEP GUARDIOLA DISMISSES EXIT RUMORS: “I AM HAPPY” WITH 18 MONTHS LEFT AT MAN CITY
Pep Guardiola breaks silence on his Man City future, calling replacement rumours "speculation" while Maresca pledges stay at Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola said he’s “happy” at Manchester City. He also told fans that the rumours about him leaving pop up every year.
David Ornstein from The Athletic wrote that some people at the club think this might be Guardiola’s last season. They're even thinking about Enzo Maresca from Chelsea as a possible replacement.
Guardiola, who's 54, has been managing in the Premier League longer than anyone else right now. He signed a new two-year deal last season that keeps him with City until 2027, which would be his 11th season there.
Last year, City didn't win any big trophies, which is pretty unusual under Guardiola, who has led them to six Premier League titles. But this year, they look like they could win the Premier League and Champions League again.
Guardiola said he has 18 months left on his contract, so he's not planning on leaving soon. He said there are “no talks” about his future right now.
People have been asking me about this for the last few years,” Guardiola said. “At some point, maybe when I'm 75 or 76, I'll leave Manchester City. I get why people ask when my contract is almost up, but I still have 18 months left.
“I’m very happy with how the team is doing. But people ask this question every season.
I'm doing fine. The club and I are on the same page when it comes to making decisions, so whatever happens will happen.
“We aren't talking about it. That's it. "I won't be here forever," I said that a while ago. Nobody is here forever.
“But we aren't having discussions. Whatever will be, will be. Of course, the club needs to be ready for anything, just like with players and the CEO.
The owners are the only exception, unless they decide to sell the club, which I don't think will happen. Everyone else needs to be prepared. But we aren't talking about that right now.”
When someone asked Guardiola if he could promise he'd still be managing Manchester City next season, he replied, "I already answered that. I'm here. Who knows what will happen?
“Even if I had a 10-year contract, things change quickly in football. Right now, I’m thinking about West Ham and spending time with my dad. Then I'll be back for the games against Nottingham Forest, Sunderland, Chelsea, Brighton, and everything else that's coming up.”
Earlier on Friday, Chelsea's manager, Maresca, said that the reports about him replacing Guardiola were “just rumours.” He has a contract with Chelsea until 2029 and used to be one of Guardiola’s assistants at City.
“I’ve said it many times, I’m only focused on this club, and I’m happy to be here,” Maresca said. “It’s just rumours. A week ago, the same thing was happening in Italy with Juventus. I don’t worry about it because I know it’s not true.
“It’s just speculation. I don’t care at all. I’m focused on the game against Newcastle. It’s an important and difficult game.”
PEP GUARDIOLA TARGETS ANTOINE SEMENYO AS MANCHESTER CITY OPEN JANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW TALKS
Manchester City have opened talks with Antoine Semenyo. Pep Guardiola looks to trigger the winger's £65m January release clause.
Word on the street is that Manchester City is chatting with Bournemouth's winger, Antoine Semenyo, says sources.
City's just one of a bunch of big Premier League teams looking to trigger Semenyo's exit clause, which is somewhere between £60 million and £65 million.
Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham are also seriously trying to make January deals for the Ghana player.
talkSPORT says that Arsenal might jump in if they get rid of a winger next month, but they're not expecting a busy transfer period.
City's got a head start on other teams by beginning talks with Semenyo two weeks before the winter window even opens.
Their manager, Pep Guardiola, is currently missing wingers Jeremy Doku and Oscar Bobb because they're injured, and Omar Marmoush is playing for Egypt in the AFCON.
Semenyo will be around all winter since Ghana didn't make it to AFCON.
This season, the 25-year-old is tied for the third-highest scorer in the Premier League, with seven goals in 15 games.
He signed a new five-year contract with Bournemouth earlier this year. Even with all the rumours, he's said to be cool about what's next.
Semenyo just scored again in that wild 4-4 game against Manchester United, after not scoring for eight games.
Bournemouth’s manager, Andoni Iraola, has had to dodge questions all season about what's happening with Semenyo.
Back in November, he said, Antoine is our player, and he's staying our player. Ask me about the market in January, not now; I’m not sweating it.
I hate talking about this stuff in August or January—when the market’s open. November, though, is no time for these discussions.
I care more about the guys who are playing tomorrow, the short-term stuff; that’s what matters. We'll talk about the rest in January.
talkSPORT says:
Semenyo's going to be a hot topic, at least for the first part of January.
We broke the story that he's got an exit clause in his contract that kicks in during the January window.
There's a deadline, around the middle of the month, for clubs to use it.
Liverpool's interested. Richard Hughes, their sporting director, is the one who brought Semenyo to Bournemouth from Bristol City.
Manchester United's definitely in the running, too, along with Tottenham—though I'd say Tottenham's a long shot right now.
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