Southampton surprisingly beat Manchester City 2-0 at home on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup. The victory advances the Saints to the semifinals of the tournament.
Superb goals from Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo propelled the hosts past one of the most dominant sides in the competition’s recent history. Not only was the final scoreline shocking, but City actually failed to record a shot on target during the entire match.
The hosts entered the game having lost six consecutive Premier League matches and sit bottom of the table. In fact, they hadn’t beaten a top flight side at home since August. Southampton scraped by two League One opponents at home in previous Carabao Cup rounds.
City, on the other hand, had been flying. The reining Premier League champions had only lost one of their last dozen matches in all competitions prior to Wednesday. Pep Guardiola’s team also won all of their last eight quarterfinal league cup games entering the night.
Southampton sinks City with two sensational Carabao Cup goals
Nevertheless, Southampton got off to a flying start. 20-year-old Sekou Mara put the hosts in front after 23 minutes. Defender Lyanco collected a loose ball and found the young Frenchman at the edge of the box. Mara struck a first time shot straight into City’s net. It was a perfectly finished goal.
As good as the finish was, Southampton’s second goal was even better. Moussa Djenepo lobbed City’s goalkeeper Stefan Ortega from long range to double the Saints’ lead just five minutes later. It was a gorgeous goal by the versatile midfielder. The strike was Djenepo’s first goal for the club in nearly two years.
It was also the first time since August that City faced a 2-0 deficit. The Citizens actually came back to win that game 4-2. Realizing changes needed to be made, Guardiola introduced three substitutions for the start of the second half. One of the trio was superstar midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
While City did play fairly better with their normal stars on the pitch, all of the credit goes to Southampton. The South Coast club dominated the league champs throughout the match. Despite having just 27% possession, the Saints were easily the better side on the night.
Carabao Cup semifinals
After the game, the semifinal draw came out for the Carabao Cup semifinals. Southampton will host Newcastle United, while Nottingham Forest play Manchester United.
Dates and fixtures times are not yet available for the Carabao Cup semifinals.
PHOTO: IMAGO / PA Images
