The Premier League champions looked comfortable for the most part but had a shaky ending against the Championship team
Manchester City survived a late scare to beat Watford 2-1 and progress to the Carabao Cup fourth round on Tuesday. The English champions had a two-goal cushion at half-time thanks to Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes and looked set to stroll through the tie, only for Tom Ince to pop up with a beautiful late goal.
The likes of Erling Haaland, Rodri, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Ederson were all absent as youngsters Nico O'Reilly, James McAtee and Kaden Braithwaite made the starting XI, but City still dominated the early proceedings. They did not have to work hard for the early opener, though, as Watford handed it to them. Ryan Porteous' weak pass back to goalkeeper Jon Bond was caught by 21-year-old McAtee and he found Jack Grealish, who squared to Doku to tuck away a fine strike from inside the box.
The Championship side thought they had equalised later in the half when a strong run from Kwadwo Baah ended with his shot beating Stefan Ortega, but a foul was given instead as he had barged 16-year-old Braithwaite off the ball.
City had almost three quarters of possession as the game wore on but they made few great chances before Rico Lewis poked through the middle, passing to Nunes as the Brazilian set himself up well to bury it from 18 yards.
The home team continued to create opportunities with their immense firepower but simply couldn't find the net, with Phil Foden slowing his team down and failing to spark anything. Watford, on the other hand, kept pushing but failed to hit the target until the 86th minute went Ince sent it curling past Ortega to set up a nervy ending.
GOAL rates City's players from Etihad Stadium…
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Stefan Ortega (6/10):
Saved by the whistle after being beaten at his near post and saw a few shots miss his goal.
Kyle Walker (5/10):
Was fine on the ball but looked suspect defensively at times.
John Stones (7/10):
Saw more of the ball than anyone else in the first half and distributed it well.
Kaden Braithwaite (6/10):
Got a solid welcome to senior football by Baah but had some good moments on his debut.
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Rico Lewis (7/10):
Showed determination throughout and did well to find Nunes ahead of the second goal.
Nico O'Reilly (6/10):
Put in a combative display in midfield in just his second appearance.
Matheus Nunes (8/10):
A huge threat through the middle and was rewarded with a goal but could have had more.
James McAtee (7/10):
Unsettled Watford with his pressing to create the first goal. A heavy touch let him down in one promising attack but had a good game otherwise.
AFPAttack
Jeremy Doku (8/10):
A smart first touch set him up for an excellent goal and was a massive threat. Subbed at half-time.
Phil Foden (4/10):
Not very effective in the middle of the attack. Had six shots and only one – from long range – was on target. Also lost the ball to let Watford create a chance.
Jack Grealish (8/10):
Perfect pass to Doku for the opener and offered a lot down the left wing with his dribbles and smart passes. Almost scored in the 81st minute.
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Savinho (7/10):
Offered a similar energy to Doku after replacing him by putting his dribbling ability to use. Saw an effort cleared off the line then smacked the post after a long run down the field.
Jacob Wright (5/10):
Slotted into midfield late for the last 20 minutes but didn't have much to do.
Josko Gvardiol (5/10):
Gave Tom Ince all the space he needed to curl in a beauty in the 86th minute.
Pep Guardiola (7/10):
Will be annoyed by how many chances Watford were allowed to make but his team deserved the win despite the many changes.