Manchester City 2-0 Brentford Review

League Cup Quarter Finals

With the result and performance against Leverkusen still fresh in many City fans’ minds, this was a game the team needed to rotate and have those coming in perform. That’s what we got from a number of them. To make what could have been a difficult game look comfortable goes a long way to restoring the confidence in the team that has slowly been recovering since last season.

MOTM: RAYAN CHERKI

Notable Stats:

• Man City have now reached 13 domestic cup semi-finals since Pep Guardiola took charge in 2016, more than any other side. Every time they've reached the semi-finals of the EFL Cup under the Spaniard, they've gone on to win the competition.

• Rayan Cherki has now been directly involved in seven goals in just nine appearances at the Etihad this season. He’s only started five of those games.

• Jérémy Doku ranks first among all Premier League players in all competitions this season for dribbles (138), touches in the opposition box (136) and chances created in open play (49).

Game Stats:

Manchester City 2-0 Brentford

• xG: 0.90 - 0.10

• Possession: 59.0% - 41.0%

• Field Tilt: 71.0% - 29.0%

• Penalty Box Shots: 6 - 1

• Final Third Entries: 66 - 37

• Touches in the Opposition Box: 25 - 10

Rayan Cherki has now started four consecutive games for Manchester City. Two games were his longest streak before this run.

Divine Mukasa completes his second full 90' of the season. For Savinho, it's his third.

Brentford accumulated 0.1xG, the lowest in a single match this season that Manchester City has conceded.

This was the 1st game of the season that Erling Haaland was an unused sub.

If you want to stay up-to-date on individual player minutes, back four combinations, underlying numbers, and more, check out the live Google sheet below. 👇

Here is how Manchester City lined up, making several changes from the weekend, with only Nico Gonzalez, Nico O’Reilly, Tijjani Reijnders, and Rayan Cherki keeping their spot in the team as others picked up a full rest or reduced minutes off the bench.

Oscar Bobb and Savinho are holding the width on either side. Mukasa and Reijnders between the lines, making runs into the box, and Cherki playing as the false nine. Rico Lewis is inverting next to Nico. Back three at times, depending on when O’Reilly sat off or drove forward with the ball.

With Bobb coming off injured, this didn't last long. Foden came off the bench, playing in midfield next to Nico, and Mukasa was moved out to the right wing. Cherki often pulled out here as well. Lewis pushed up higher.

To press Brentford, Cherki and Mukasa would lead from the front to push them to one side. Reijnders covering Janelt. Depending on the side, Nico would come across to support, the backline could shift, and the wingers would make sure to block the pass inside before trying to win the ball off either Kayode or Collins.

Oscar Bobb came off for Phil Foden (19’) with an injury, reported to be a hamstring, but the severity is not confirmed yet. Just after he had a good chance to open the scoring, and made a promising start to the game.

R. Cherki 32' 1-0  

Mukasa takes the corner from the right side, targeting the back post. Cleared by Brentford, brought down by Cherki, who fakes the shot with his left foot as Damsgaard comes across to try to block, before shooting with his right into the top corner.

It was controlled in the first half, especially after the opening 10 - 20 minutes, Manchester City were able to keep Brentford pinned back for the rest of the half. Limit them to 1 shot. Opened the scoring with Cherki. Had plenty of shots (7), could have had another, but they weren’t creating an abundance of big chances.

Khusanov will count himself a touch fortunate with the first-half challenge on Schade, picking up a yellow, but he grew well into the game, and it continued in the second half.

Silva, Nunes, and Gvardiol came on for Cherki, Nico, and O’Reilly (66’) just after the hour mark. Ensuring those three don’t play the full ninety without taking too many risks with the players coming on and the game only 1-0.

Savinho 67' 2-0 

Brentford crosses into the box, headed cleared by Khusanov towards Mukasa. Brought down, passed inside to Reijnders, who drives forward before chipping the ball over the top for Savinho. This is something he did well throughout the game, Reijnders, knowing when to carry forward to progress the team, and when not to take that risk and lay it off.

Long carry to the other end of the pitch, as we saw against Crystal Palace. Savinho gets fortunate for the goal with the deflection, but the intent is right. Driving at the full-back inside, leaving you the space inside the box to burst into before getting a shot off.

When Manchester City played against Brentford (A) in the Premier League, Savinho started LW against Kayode and completed 0/5 take-ons.

In the League Cup match, he completed 7/12 (58.3%).

Below is one of those against Kayode. Taking a touch inside with his right, another slight touch inside with his left, and once Kayode is planted, he's off down the line. He then used his pace to get past and put a cross into the box. Also doesn't let Kayode get close enough to use his arm.

After the second goal, Manchester City saw out the rest of the game quite comfortably. Brentford didn’t have a shot on goal after the 54th minute; one came from a throw-in set-piece, and they only had 38% possession across the second half. Charlie Gray came on for Phil Foden (82’) to make his debut for the first team. Central midfielder who slotted in and didn’t look lost at all with his positioning, made a nice pass through to Savinho in the box.

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Moving Forward

The Leverkusen result and performance were quite frustrating for me, given the number of players I expected better from. The rotation was a factor, but it was turned into the main story when, in reality, the performances were not good enough.

Tonight, they made the game look as comfortable as you can expect, playing against Brentford. Both sides rotated some key players, but as we saw in the Leverkusen match, that doesn’t mean you’re going to find it easy.

We’ll need the depth options to rotate throughout the season, to impact games off the bench, and to be genuine competitions for places in the remaining games. The starting 11 should not be locked in. For many tonight, it was an encouraging display, and it went a long way to restoring confidence in them.

Seven academy graduates on the pitch against Brentford. Debut for Charlie Gray (19), whose born in Manchester. These are the moments you want to see in the cup competitions. Mfuni is a bit unfortunate not to get on in the end, with the injury to Bobb earlier in the game, only five substitutes, and the second goal not coming until after the round of changes on the 66th minute mark. But, he’s only 17 years old, has plenty of time ahead, and opportunities to get his debut. The FA Cup could be the one for him.

Good performance from Savinho against Brentford. He showed the right intent, on either wing, to be aggressive in attacking the box. Made the most PA entries (9), ball recoveries, and progressive carries (10) in the match. There was a chance that one of the players coming in against Brentford could earn themselves a start against West Ham on the weekend, and I think Savinho put down the best claim for that spot.

We’ve seen good moments off the bench since he came on against Real Madrid and Crystal Palace, but compared to his performance against Leverkusen, this was exactly what we needed to see. Now, it’s about the consistency and improvement in his final action.

There were lots of good actions from Reijnders last night, and more of the same is needed in the coming games. Giving the team constant runs into the box, pulling defenders to the near-post, and helping to carry the ball up the pitch. There was a moment towards the end of the second half, he carries the ball into the Brentford half after City regain possession, lays off to Mukasa to continue out wide, and then directs him to pass back and settle into possession. The kind of leadership you need to see from the older players in the team.

Two of those passes you can see below, the first through to Savinho inside the box after bursting past a couple of Brentford players.

This example here we’ve seen from plenty of City players this season, no doubt something they’ve been working on, and despite only a few minutes, Oscar Bobb made plenty of runs behind the defensive line. Whether it’s Reijnders picking them out or Trafford. It’s a shame about his injury, but hopefully it’s not long, as you could see he started the game with the right intent.

Khusanov was fortunate, to an extent, with his challenge on Schade in the 1st half, although there were plenty of defenders back and the touch from Schade wasn’t taking him towards goal. Still, it was rash of him. Over the first half, he grew into the game and was even better in the second half. The challenge on Schade inside the box was the highlight, but consistently directing headers to teammates removed any threat Brentford tried to build with long balls. I’m sure we’ll see him again soon.

Pleased with the performance from Rico Lewis. Made the most defensive actions in the match. Won his tackles, recovered the ball, blocked some passes, and didn't mess about with clearing the ball. For the most part, he's excellent in shifting his body across to protect the ball, but he got caught out a couple of times tonight. Missed some opportunities to play others into the penalty box. It’s a step in the right direction.

For the semi-final of the League Cup, Manchester City will play against Newcastle over two legs. The second leg is at the Etihad. The away trip will be between our first FA Cup game of the season, against Exeter City (10/01/2026) and Manchester United (17/01/2026) in the Premier League. The home game is sandwiched between two away PL games, Spurs (31/01/2026) and Liverpool (07/02/2026).

There isn't a Manchester City player being 'run into the ground' this season, with no player above 90% of total minutes played. Haaland (83.6%) and Dias (80.0%) are the closest to that.

There is a clear divide between the regular starters and rotation options right now, but there are plenty of players, as highlighted, that are more than capable of bridging that gap over the next few months. Also, Injuries have been a big factor for some of those players not getting as many minutes so far this season.

Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri are now off to represent their countries at AFCON, which could see them both out until after the game against Manchester United (A) on the 17th of January, should they get to the final. They can miss up to nine games whilst on international duty.

The January transfer window is coming up within the next couple of weeks, and there is a lot of noise around Manchester City making a move for Semenyo. For more discussion on the window, I’d recommend listening to the latest Market Pod on the 9320 player linked here.

Next up for Manchester City is West Ham (H) in the Premier League on the 20th of December at 15:00 (UK). An opportunity for them to go top before Arsenal play against Everton and put pressure on them. After this, there is a seven-day break for the team before playing Nottingham Forest (A) on the 27th.

West Ham currently sits 18th in the Premier League on 13 points. Away from home, they have beaten Nottingham Forest, drawn four, and lost three. Currently winless in their last five games.