Leroy Sane double clinches Manchester City EFL Cup victory over West Brom
West Bromwich Albion 1 Manchester City 2: The forward sealed the visitors' place in the fourth round on 77 minutes with an expertly-taken winner
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
Leroy Sane’s classy double strike fired a dominant Manchester City into round four of the Carabao Cup but only after Pep Guardiola’s men had survived a big scare at The Hawthorns.
There was no denying the Premier League leaders deserved to progress for an utterly dominant first-half display that brought the opening goal from Sane after less than three minutes.
Yet their failure to kill off Tony Pulis’s men looked set to land them with extra-time when Claudio Yacob equalised with 18 minutes to go and Albion even missed chances to sneak ahead.
Sane finally took charge on 77 minutes with an expertly-taken winner, only for West Brom to rattle the woodwork again in the dying seconds.
That left the fitness of Ilkay Gundogan as Guardiola’s main worry after the German limped off 59 minutes into his latest comeback game.
The midfielder had starred in his first start since damaging a cruciate knee ligament nine months ago but he was forced off after appearing to twist his other leg awkwardly.
The deadlock was broken with less than two and a half minutes played when City found holes in the Albion defence with relative ease.
Raheem Sterling exploited space on the City right to cross for Ilkay Gundogan and the midfielder’s shot was only parried by goalkeeper Ben Foster as far as Sane.
The winger drilled the rebound into the roof of the net emphatically.
West Brom believed briefly that they had levelled on 10 minutes when a ball broke for Hal Robson-Kanu to finish from close range.
But referee Mike Jones ruled out the goal for a foul by Grzegorz Krychowiak on Sane.
City were dominating possession, however, and they were twice denied a second goal in the 19th minute.
First, West Brom defender Gareth McAuley produced a superb block from a shot by Gundogan after smart pass by Sterling.
Them, from the resulting corner, Sane crossed for Eliaquim Mangala, whose header was beaten away by the diving Foster.
Gabriel Jesus should have doubled the lead on 25 minutes with a chance that he fashioned superbly for himself.
His quick footwork outwitted Gareth McAuley on the edge of the West Brom six-yard box, but the winger could not keep down his shot and it cleared the crossbar.
City had toyed with West Brom for much of the opening 30 minutes with Gundogan the chief tormentor, and on the half-hour he danced through the home defence again into the penalty area.
His progress was only halted when Albion midfielder Claudio Yacob got back to make a crucial challenge.
Sane sent an ambitious effort from distance wide of Foster’s goal just before the interval as City failed to add to his early opener.
But there was no hiding the total dominance of Guardiola’s men, who statistics showed had enjoyed almost 70 per cent of the first-half possession.
And they were denied superbly in stoppage time by Foster, whose one-handed save kept out Sterling’s bending effort.
The opening chance of the second half fell to West Brom when Craig Dawson delivered a cross onto the head of Jay Rodriguez.
But the Albion striker glanced a header wide after drifting away from Mangala.
Yaya Toure then went down after being caught by Hal Robson-Kanu before Gundogan’s impressive night came to a premature end.
He produced a superb run of around 60 yards that was ended by a sliding challenge from Yacob that left the German in obvious pain in his left knee - the opposite one to that which sidelined him previously.
He was called off immediately by Guardiola and replaced by Kyle Walker.
West Brom were much improved in the second period and, after James Morrison had sent an effort inches wide, Yacob popped up with the equaliser.
It owed much to poor defending from City, who left both Yacob and Jonny Evans unmarked in the six-yard box to meet a Kieran Gibbs corner.
The hosts should even have claimed the lead moments later when substitute Matt Phillips supplied a perfect cross for Robson-Kanu, only for the Wales striker to fire horribly wide.
And he was made to pay by Sane on 77 minutes when the German collected Bernardo Silva’s pass, cut inside Craig Dawson and curled a superb shot into the top corner.
Robson-Kanu missed a huge chance to equalise in stoppage-time when, unmarked, he blasted against the post from eight yards.
West Brom (3-5-2): Foster; Dawson, McAuley (Phillips 62), Evans; Nyom, Krychowiak, Yacob (McClean 80), Morrison, Gibbs; Rodriguez (Rondon 67), Robson-Kanu
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Bravo; Danilo, Stones, Mangala, Delph; Toure, Gundogan (Walker 59); Sane (Fernandinho 79), B Silva, Sterling; Jesus
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments