Pep Guardiola's Manchester City juggernaut rolls on, but only after they were taken to penalties by a resilient Leicester side in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

With both sides putting out much-changed starting XIs it was the Premier League leaders who dominated possession in the early exchanges, before Bernardo Silva opened the scoring.

Capitalising on some excellent work from Ilkay Gundogan, the Portuguese received a pass in the box and fired home to give Guardiola's men a deserved lead.

Leicester called on their big guns in the second half, bringing on Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and Demari Gray and it was the two Englishman who combined to pull the Foxes level deep into eight minutes of stoppage time.

Vardy levelled deep into stoppage time (
Image:
Plumb Images)

Gray went down in the box under a Kyle Walker challenge and Vardy stepped up to blast home from the spot and send the tie into extra-time.

Neither side could find another goal in the extra period and the tie went to spot kicks, but it was Vardy and Mahrez who missed the vital spot kicks.

City celebrate their opener (
Image:
Plumb Images)

But what did we learn from an epic at the King Power?

Silva's finding his feet

Silva fired City ahead (
Image:
Action Images via Reuters)

From the Champions League semi-finals to the second-string City cup team may seem like a step down, but the Portuguese isn't one to mope and soon found himself in the thick of things, firing in two shots in the opening 15 minutes.

And it was Silva who slotted home the opener after 25 minutes, when he benefited from the space created by Ilkay Gundogan's surge forward to prod home in a very efficient manner.

Silva celebrates his first-half strike (
Image:
Plumb Images)

With two assists in his last two games, Silva is beginning to establish himself nicely on these shores and gives Guardiola yet another potent option as City brace themselves for the busy festive period.

Iheanacho fails to punish his former employers

Iheanacho drew a blank (
Image:
Catherine Ivill)

Kelechi Iheanacho was going up against his former employees this evening and it's unlikely that Guardiola will be ruing the decision to let the Nigerian international go too much.

The 21-year-old was busy up front for the Foxes, with an over-zealous challenge on Claudio Bravo seeing him booked halfway through the first half, when he looked to seize on a poor backpass from Danilo.

His evening soon turned into a personal duel with his former academy team-mate Tosin Adarabioyo, but the mobile Citizens defender won that battle.

The striker was booked in the first half (
Image:
Plumb Images)

Iheanacho had a golden opportunity to level the scores after the half-hour mark, but shot straight at Bravo - and that would be as good as it got for him, as he was subbed off before the hour mark.

Pep's second-string on show

Adarabioyo impressed for the visitors (
Image:
Plumb Images)

Pep Guardiola made a nine changes from the side that beat Tottenham at the weekend, with the likes of Tosin Adarabioyo, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz all handed a chance to impress.

With the Premier League leaders competing on four fronts, their depth will no doubt be tested in the coming weeks and it would appear that the Spaniard has plenty of options should injuries or suspensions begin to mount.

The mobile Adarabioyo put in a decent display at the back, dealing with his former team-mate Iheanacho with ease, Diaz showed some good touches and 17-year-old Foden got more precious minutes under his belt.

Diaz showed signs of what he is capable of (
Image:
Michael Regan)

Zinchenko notionally stated the game at left-back but played in a similar role to Fabian Delph did against Chelsea, drifting into the centre of midfield and helping to flood the centre of the park.

All of this showed that Guardiola's ideas are getting through to the whole squad and there should be plenty of cogs ready to slot in when needed over the busy festive period.

Foden shows flashes of his potential

Foden got more minutes under his belt (
Image:
Michael Regan)

Manchester City fans can be forgiven for getting excited every time they see Phil Foden's name on the teamsheet, as Guardiola looks to gently introduce the 17-year-old into his first-team squad

"Every training session, every game when you are 17 is a chance to improve,"said the City boss.

After a quiet start, the teenager showed flashes of what he is capable of.

A inch-perfect ball in from the left just before the half hour mark showed off his natural intelligence and instinct and while he may not have stamped his authority all over the game, City fans can be confident they have a very good young player in their ranks.

Opportunity knocked for Puel - but he failed to take advantage

Puel played it safe - too safe (
Image:
Michael Regan)

Let's face it - Leicester are unlikely to trouble the Champions League places this season. And they're also unlikely to be in the thick of a relegation battle at the business end of the season.

So why pass up the opportunity to have a go at a second-string Manchester City side, and book your place in a semi-final?

Had he not started the likes of Vardy, Mahrez and Gray on the bench then the Foxes could have taken this one to the Premier League leaders - and given the home fans something to cheer about in what will now likely go down as a water-treading season.

poll loading

Will Manchester City be the Premier League's dominant force for the next 10 years?

5000+ VOTES SO FAR