Football
Jonathan Smith, Manchester City correspondent 5y

De Bruyne an 8/10 in return as Man City knock Leicester out of Carabao Cup

LEICESTER, England -- Manchester City continued the defence of their Carabao Cup with a penalty shootout victory over Leicester City on Tuesday. Kevin De Bruyne scored his first goal of the season to put City ahead after 14 minutes, but Marc Albrighton's 73rd-minute strike took the quarterfinal to a shootout. Christian Fuchs and Raheem Sterling both missed the target with their penalties before Aro Muric saved from James Maddison and Caglar Soyuncu to send Pep Guardiola's side through to the semifinals.

Positives

City have been without De Bruyne for much of the season, but he looks ready to make an impact in a busy time of the season. Sergio Aguero also made his first start in five matches, and although the striker looked rusty, it's another big plus to have him available with the games coming thick and fast.

Negatives

With a young side, it was surprising that the senior players were the most disappointing performers for City. Nicolas Otamendi was off key as the main man in defence, and City have uncharacteristically now kept just one clean sheet in their past seven games.

Manager rating out of 10

7 -- Guardiola is not one to throw competitions away, but he's trying to balance chasing domestic cup competitions with the huge Premier League challenge from Liverpool and trying to keep his players fresh for when the Champions League restarts in February. He tried to juggle his options by mixing youth, the returning Aguero and De Bruyne with some experience. It worked well for most of the game.

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Aro Muric, 8 -- Just his third appearance for the club and his biggest test so far. Understandably nervous with the ball at his feet but no errors and one smart save from Demarai Gray. No chance with the goal but came to the fore in the shootout with two saves.

DF Kyle Walker, 6 -- Up against the speed of Gray but didn't have too many problems.

DF Eric Garcia, 7 -- The 17-year-old from Barcelona was making his debut for the first team and made an impressive start. He was defensively solid and comfortable passing out from the back.

DF Nicolas Otamendi, 6 -- Had to play a senior role alongside the rookie Garcia but probably looked the most uncertain defender in the back four.

DF Oleksandr Zinchenko, 7 -- Unusually for the Ukrainian, he was among the most senior players to start for City. He rose to the occasion with a dynamic performance -- his best of the season -- and confidently took the winning penalty.

MF John Stones, 7 -- City's utility man was pushed into a holding midfield role and revelled in the position linking defence and attack.

MF Kevin De Bruyne, 8 -- Crucial minutes as he regains his match fitness after two knee injuries. Took just 14 minutes to score a fantastic opener and was City's most dangerous attacker with his wonderful passing and threat.

MF Phil Foden, 7 -- Growing into the team with every performance. So comfortable on the ball and drifted neatly between the lines.

FW Riyad Mahrez, 6 -- Returning to his former club but didn't make the impact that he wanted. Fuchs seemed to be well aware of his box of tricks.

FW Sergio Aguero, 6 -- Making his first start in five games and took the captain's armband. Some neat touches but missed a one-on-one he would normally gobble up.

FW Brahim Diaz, 7 -- A surprise starter with his long-term future at the Etihad Stadium looking in serious doubt. Lively cutting in from the left wing and caused Danny Simpson plenty of problems.

Substitutes

FW Raheem Sterling, 5 -- Unusually made little impact and took a horrible penalty.

MF Ilkay Gundogan, N/R -- Replaced De Bruyne and City weren't quite the same. Scored a penalty.

FW Gabriel Jesus, N/R -- Some wonderful touches showed his confidence is back and was successful in the shootout.

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