Oxford United vs Manchester City. Carabao Cup Quarter-Final.
The Kassam StadiumAttendance11,817.
Match report and highlights from the Carabao Cup quarter-final clash at the Kassam Stadium as Manchester City moved into the last four
Thursday 19 December 2019 06:04, UK
Raheem Sterling's double sent Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-finals as they beat Oxford United 3-1 on Wednesday night.
With Mikel Arteta in the dugout alongside Pep Guardiola - despite his reported talks to become Arsenal manager this week - City took the lead midway through the first half at the Kassam Stadium as Joao Cancelo struck, before Matty Taylor levelled proceedings for the League One side just after the break.
City responded quickly, though, as Sterling struck twice to put the tie to bed, sending the defending back-to-back champions through to the last four, where they will face Manchester United over two legs in January.
Oxford gave a fine account of themselves in the first half and were slightly unfortunate in the way they fell behind.
A swift counter-attack saw Phil Foden - making his third successive start - spring Cancelo, who drove into the box then saw his shot take a hefty deflection Elliott Moore and beat the helpless Jordan Archer.
Almost right from the restart, Oxford managed to haul themselves level - albeit in somewhat controversial circumstances. Shandon Baptiste took a free-kick quickly with the ball still rolling, but the officials did not spot it as he fed Taylor, who beat his marker before finishing low into the bottom corner.
Parity lasted until just the 50th minute, though, as Sterling latched onto Angelino's perfect cross from the left to poke home from close range.
Sterling added his second and City's third precisely 20 minutes later. Again, it came from just a few yards out as he tapped in from substitute Gabriel Jesus' cross.
Oxford kept pushing and had their chances to get back into the game. Claudio Bravo in the City goal was called into action a few times in the latter stages, first to tip a Tariqe Fosu deflected cross over the bar, then to deny substitute Mark Sykes' volley from close range, before keeping out a Fosu effort again from a narrow angle.
It was enough to aid City's relatively calm passage in a competition where they have not lost for more than three years.
Oxford's Karl Robinson: "I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm frustrated. Never in a month of Sundays did I expect to come out and say that. We were disciplined and took them on at a game they were best at, we were brave and pressed them and I'm very pleased with the players.
"But I'm sure my last thought tonight when I close my eyes will be what could have been. We now move on to a big game at the weekend."
Man City's Pep Guardiola: "It was a tight game. We struggled to win and played against a top side. But congratulations to the team and young players who played today for the victory.
"We suffered a lot in the second half and in the 20 minutes when it was 2-1. And in the last minutes too because they played with long balls, and throw-ins and corners, and we struggle in that position. But we knew that would happen before we came here.
"We have a lot of games [coming up] and it's the start of six or seven games in 18 days, and it's tough. But we are delighted to be in this position in this competition going into the semi-finals."
One sub-plot on the night for City will have been the presence of Arteta, who was in the dugout beside Guardiola despite the fact he is in advanced talks to become Arsenal's next manager, according to Sky in Italy.
"[Guardiola] is obviously not happy in the way it's been dealt with," former City defender Micah Richards told Sky Sports after the game. "It's tough because you never want to lose your No 2. You can tell Arteta is a good assistant and a good coach, but on the flipside Pep probably won't stand in his way if he wants to go to a club like Arsenal with a great history, as he wants to be a manager.
"I think he's integral [to City] and you don't want to lose your assistant halfway through the season, but at the same time he wants to kick on with his career."
It wasn't the most impressive night of Sterling's season by any means, but he showed off his predatory instincts with two close-range finishes to seal the win in the second half. They are simply the type of goals that he takes for granted now.
Oxford are back in League One action at home to league leaders Wycombe on Saturday at 3pm.
Manchester City face a pivotal Premier League clash at home to Leicester on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 5pm. Kick-off is at 5.30pm.
