Manchester City needed the lottery of a penalty shootout to see off a stubborn Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup fourth round.
It was a game which they had hoped would be a celebration for Sergio Aguero, who started the game aiming to become the club’s all-time top scorer, and although the striker scored the winning spot kick, the game will be remembered for the performance of the man at the other end, Claudio Bravo, who put in an excellent display throughout normal time and also saved two penalties in the shootout.
Prior to Aguero’s successful penalty in the previous game against Burnley, Eric Brook was out on his own as City’s top goalscorer with 177 goals, and had been for some time. The Mexborough born winger retired in 1940 and none of the club’s strikers have come close to his record, until Aguero.
And the start of this game was very much about the record. The Argentine striker had a few early chances, and there was a feeling that his team-mates were looking for him each time they entered the final third. The best of these opportunities came courtesy of a Raheem Sterling ball from the right, which evaded a number of players on both sides before falling at the feet of the No 10 who pulled his shot wide.
However, given the way Wolves were set up in a 5-4-1 formation which often saw all ten outfield players behind the ball, defending in their own half, the home side just needed a goal, regardless of the scorer.
But the ball kept falling to Aguero, and he kept firing shots on Will Norris’s goal, but none really threatened, and the ones which were on target were straight at the Wolves goalkeeper.
The visitors had two gold and black walls set up when out of possession, which was for much of the game, but they did have a couple of first-half opportunities to break from this formation which both came from Eliaquim Mangala errors. The first was a header from a free kick conceded by the Frenchman when he felled Helder Costa. Ben Marshall managed to find a towering Ryan Bennett with the cross, but Bravo leapt to his left to save. The second came when Bright Enobakhare capitalised on an error by the centre back as he was running towards his own goal, but again the shot was saved by Bravo.
Young defender Tosin Adarabioyo looked much more composed on the other side of the centre of defence, and debutant Oleksandr Zinchenko, signed as a midfielder from Russian side FC Ufa, was also impressive at left back.
The appearance of the 20-year-old Ukranian was another example of the tactical versatility Guardiola likes to bring to his teams, and with the club’s only left back, Benjamin Mendy, out with a long term injury, the Catalan manager took the opportunity to blood a promising player in a position where the side needs cover. Given the way he has his full backs coming into midfield from the flanks, the position is ideal for left-footed midfielders such as Zinchenko and Fabian Delph.
The manner in which the game had developed in the first half, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear reports that Guardiola had turned to his tactics board during the half-time team talk in order to devise more ways to get the ball to Aguero, but the only narrative in the dressing room will have been one which suggested more ways to break down the Wolves defence.
Aguero tried something different in the first minute of the second half, striking the ball with his weaker left foot in an attempt to find the far corner, but it was something of a hit and hope effort from outside the area.
Amid a recovery period for his defensive walls during the break, Wolves manager Nuno Espírito Santo may have given his own attacking instructions at half time. It was his side who went on to have one of the best chances of the game through Costa, but the 23-year-old was thwarted by Bravo when through one-on-one. City’s reserve goalkeeper was surprisingly busy given his side’s domination of possession, and the home side missed the first team triumvirate of John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi, and Fernandinho in the engine room.
Norris was also busy at the other end, making a number of good interventions and routing saves, but the attackers he was facing were tentatively tapping on the Wolves’ door rather than forcefully trying to knock it down.
Mangala was caught out again, allowing Enobakhare a free run on goal but Adarabioyo did brilliantly to halt the Nigerian striker and, thanks to the composure of the 20-year-old centre back, Bravo wasn’t called into action and the blushes of his defensive partner were spared.
Eventually, Guardiola introduced one of his stars from the bench, and substitute Kevin De Bruyne’s troublesome cross led to a good chance for Sterling which he snapped at and sent wide. But while City were squandering half-chances in front of goal, another golden opportunity fell for Wolves on the break. Enobakhare sprinted half the length of the pitch with opposition defenders trailing in his wake, and again it was down to Bravo who formed an impenetrable last line of defence which saw the game go to extra time.
By this time any lingering thoughts of a player breaking club record had been forgotten. A rasping effort from Sterling was saved by Norris after Guardiola had brought John Stones and Leroy Sane on for the extra period. Though the latter had some good opportunities, it was Wolves substitute Connor Ronan who flummoxed the home defence and almost saw the ball dribble in off Kyle Walker.
The game petered out into a penalty shootout where Aguero was finally able win the game for his side, despite not passing the record, but this night belonged to the Chilean stopper Bravo.
