Breathtaking 'shootout', Man City wins ticket to League Cup semi-finals

After drawing 1-1 with Leicester in 120 minutes of official play, Coach Guardiola's team showed more courage in the nerve-wracking penalty shootout, winning 4-3 to enter the semi-finals of the English League Cup.

Not taking the League Cup too seriously, Guardiola fielded mainly reserve players. Notably, there were some young talents such as Foden, Diaz and Zinchenko in the starting lineup.

However, Man City still showed dominance against Leicester, who also played with the second team. The away team controlled the game quite well, forcing the "foxes" to retreat to defend.

In the 14th minute, Bernardo Silva had a solo run on the right wing and then finished with a powerful left foot, forcing goalkeeper Hamer to show his talent.

Immediately after that, Hamer made a mistake and missed the ball, Gundogan kicked it very quickly. Luckily for Leicester, center back Maguire was able to clear the danger in time.

Leicester's attack was quite sporadic and relied on set pieces. Maguire had a chance after a corner but his header went over the bar.

Bernardo Silva broke the deadlock.

In the 26th minute, Man City found the opening goal after tireless efforts. Gundogan stole the ball from midfield and then broke straight into the penalty area, attracting the home team's defender. The German midfielder flicked the ball to the right for Bernardo Silva to easily defeat Hamer in a one-on-one.

Conceding a goal, Leicester played more boldly. Iheanacho almost tore the net of his former team with a curling shot in the penalty area. However, goalkeeper Bravo made an excellent diving save.

At the end of the first half, Bravo made a careless pass that was intercepted by Iheanacho. Luckily for the away team, the number 8 striker's finishing shot went a bit high over the goal.

After the break, Leicester could not create any breakthroughs from their attacks. That situation forced coach Puel to send two trump cards, Vardy and Mahrez, onto the field.

To restrain the opponent, Guardiola asked his players to slow down and try to keep the ball in midfield. On the other hand, Leicester players actively fought for possession.

In the 82nd minute, Mahrez made a breakthrough on the right wing and then crossed the ball into the box. However, goalkeeper Bravo quickly dived and grabbed the ball.

In the 6th minute of injury time, Gray rushed down the field, forcing Walker to commit a foul in the penalty area. The referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot and Vardy kicked a powerful shot to equalize 1-1 for the home team.

Vardy equalized for Leicester in injury time.

The match ended 1-1 in regulation time, so the two teams went into extra time. In the 103rd minute, Bravo made a silly move and almost gave Vardy a goal.

Yaya Toure almost made his mark with a tricky free kick. However, goalkeeper Hamer made an excellent save. After 120 minutes, the two teams were still tied, so they were forced to enter a penalty shootout.

It was also Vardy who missed the decisive penalty that stopped Leicester.

In the first 7 shots, both players scored accurately. However, in the 8th and 9th shots, Leicester's two brightest stars, Vardy and Mahrez, missed. Leicester lost 3-4 on penalties, giving Man City the ticket to the semi-finals of the English League Cup.

Line-up:

Leicester City (4-4-1-1):Hamer; Amartey, Dragovic (Benalouane 111), Maguire, Fuchs; Albrighton (Mahrez 57), King, Iborra, Chilwell (Gray 72); Iheanacho (Vardy 57); Okazaki

Man City:Bravo; Danilo, Adarabioyo, Mangala (Walker 82), Zinchenko; Toure, Gundogan, Foden (Dele-Bashiru 90); Diaz (Nmecha 88), B Silva, Gabriel Jesus

Goal: Vardy 90'+6 (pen) - Bernardo Silva 26'.

According to VNN