Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
West Brom v Man City
Leroy Sané puts Manchester City ahead in the third minute against West Bromwich at The Hawthorns. Photograph: Frank/ProSports/Rex/Shutterstock
Leroy Sané puts Manchester City ahead in the third minute against West Bromwich at The Hawthorns. Photograph: Frank/ProSports/Rex/Shutterstock

Manchester City’s Leroy Sané strikes twice to see off West Bromwich Albion

This article is more than 6 years old

Leroy Sané scored twice to book a last-16 tie against Wolverhampton Wanderers and extend Manchester City’s winning run to five matches, but a robust encounter at the Hawthorns also brought a reminder that Pep Guardiola’s men are fallible.

After threatening another goal avalanche in the first half, City wound up relieved to win, grateful in particular to two misses by Hal Robson-Kanu. Claudio Yacob, meanwhile, proved a painful irritant to the visitors in more ways than one, scoring a second-half equaliser mere minutes after perpetrating the tackle that led to Ilkay Gündogan hobbling off injured. The German had been excellent on his first start after an absence of nearly 10 months because of torn knee ligaments. “Fortunately it’s not serious,” Guardiola said. “We will do a test to clarify but I spoke to him after and he’s OK, just a bit of pain in his knee.”

Guardiola versus Tony Pulis is as extreme a clash of styles as English football can offer – the high priest of attacking football against the patron saint of central defenders – and both managers could find vindication for their creeds here. City’s slick assaults at times overwhelmed the hosts but West Brom clung on before drawing level when Yacob exploited shoddy marking by the visitors at a corner.

Then Pulis’s team showed that they, too, can attack from open play. They should even have taken the lead before Sané sickened them with a sweet curler into the net from 20 yards in the 77th minute.

City started only three of the players who began the 6-0 win at Watford on Saturday but still deployed an abundance of creative talent. In the third minute, as part of the 54-pass move that led to City’s first goal, Fabian Delph swept a ball out to the right. Raheem Sterling crossed, Gündogan met it 14 yards out and when Ben Foster parried one German’s shot, another, Sané, arrived to lash in the rebound.

West Brom must have dreaded a thrashing but they never crumbled. Gareth McAuley made a critical intervention to deny Gündogan in the 18th minute. Then Eliaquim Mangala forced a fine save from Ben Foster. Seven minutes later Gabriel Jesus twisted past McAuley in the box but blazed over from 15 yards. Foster excelled again on the stroke of half-time to thwart Sterling.

Then came the hosts’ turnaround. Jay Rodriguez would have tested Claudio Bravo early in the second half if he had steered a header on target. Tempers flared before the hour when Gündogan dodged past Yacob and ran forward 50 yards before the Argentinian took him down from behind. Yacob was booked, Gündogan limped off.

City craved a second goal to quash the uprising. Instead West Brom had the effrontery to equalise – through none other than Yacob. Evans could also have scored it, as City left both players unmarked from a corner.

Bravo saved well from James Morrison before Robson-Kanu wasted a chance to give the home side the lead. Moments later Sané gave it to the visitors instead. Robson-Kanu should have taken the tie to extra-time when the ball broke to him 10 yards out. But he fired against the outside of the post.

Comments (…)

Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion

Most viewed

Most viewed