Manchester City suffers shock defeat, out of EFL Cup

Manchester City suffered a shock League Cup exit as struggling Southampton swept to a 2-0 victory in Wednesday’s EFL quarterfinals.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola rested key players such as Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne with this weekend’s derby with Manchester United at Old Trafford in mind, but nothing must detract from a vibrant Southampton display.

The game was settled in the first half by Sekou Mara’s crisp finish after 23 minutes and a superb second from Moussa Djenepo five minutes later when he caught City keeper Stefan Ortega badly out of position off his line with a lofted long-range finish.

Guardiola threw on De Bruyne and Haaland after the break but it was to no avail as Southampton defended their lead with fierce determination to reach the last four, where they will face Newcastle.

City’s surprise exit continued a worrying trend of lacklustre performances this season in games Guardiola would expect them to win, a failing that has left the champions trailing five points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League.

Guardiola, who has won the League Cup four times since arriving at City in 2016, will demand an immediate response in Saturday’s crucial Premier League derby against Manchester United.

Surprise winners

Southampton have never won the League Cup, losing the 1979 and 2017 finals, and boss Nathan Jones will hope this surprise success can be the springboard to silverware and, more importantly, Premier League survival.

Southampton were joined in the semifinals by Nottingham Forest, who beat Wolves 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the City Ground.

Manchester United and Newcastle also reached the semifinals on Tuesday after their wins against Charlton and Leicester respectively.

Supersport/Emmanuel Ukoh