Manchester City booked their place in the last four of the Capital One Cup this evening with a 3-1 win over Championship side Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Aleksander Kolarov gave the visitors the lead in style after less than 10 minutes with a superb free kick from 30 yards out that Kasper Schmeichel could do nothing about.
Edin Dzeko then got a goal either side of half time to put Man City into a commanding lead before Lloyd Dyer scored a consolation goal in the 77th minute to give the home fans something to shout about.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at an entertaining League Cup match as Man City put the gloss on a spectacular week for the club.
Match statistics:
Leicester:
Shots 7
On target 4
Possession 43%
Corners 2
Fouls 7
Man City:
Shots 18
On target 10
Possession 57%
Corners 8
Fouls 12
Was the result fair?
Yes. Man City looked comfortable from the outset and quickly settled into their rhythm, controlling the ball for large periods and easily dealing with any Leicester attacks. From the moment Kolarov gave them the lead in such spectacular fashion, the visitors never looked like losing the game. Manuel Pellegrini made eight changes to his side but it was the men he retained, most notably David Silva, who kept Man City in control as he pulled the strings from midfield. Leicester looked for a brief moment like they might launch a comeback of sorts when Dyer scored, but the game was long gone by then and City had done all they needed to do to pick up a deserved victory.
Leicester's performance
The hosts weren't threatening enough from open play until Dyer scored, and even then their sights of goal were limited at best. Joe Hart didn't have a save to make until early in the second half and Leicester never really looked capable of competing with Man City this evening. They will, of course, take the quality of the opposition into account when analysing their performance, but there is no escaping that they looked toothless in attack throughout. Things will need to improve if they are to realise their goal of promotion this season.
Man City's performance
They weren't the same free-flowing City that dismantled Arsenal at the weekend, but they did enough to comfortably see them past the test that Leicester posed. The visitors rarely had to shift out of third gear to win this match, and they could have scored even more than the three they managed had it not been for some good saves from Schmeichel. Pellegrini will be upset by the amount his side eased off after scoring their third goal, however, as it allowed the Foxes back into the match and cost City their clean sheet. The match also saw Pablo Zabaleta suffer an injury that looks like it may keep him out for a few weeks, but overall it was a positive end to an incredible week.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Edin Dzeko: David Silva may have pulled the strings from midfield for much of the game, but it was ultimately Edin Dzeko who finished off the chances and won the match for his side. His goals were pretty much laid on a plate for him, but he still had to apply the finish on both occasions and, had he missed either, it would have been a much more nerve-racking end to the match for the visitors. Dzeko will be looking to stake a claim for a regular starting spot following the injury to Sergio Aguero, and he did his chances no harm tonight.
Biggest gaffe
Having just won the man of the match award, Dzeko makes it an unlikely double by also picking up the dubious honour of the game's biggest gaffe. It came in the 24th minute when Kolarov played the ball along the floor to Dzeko, who seemed to have a simple finish from close range to double his side's lead at the time. However, he was denied by a fabulous stop from Schmeichel, who threw himself across goal to keep the Bosnian's effort out. A lot of credit has to go to the keeper for this one, but a player of Dzeko's quality simply shouldn't be missing from that position. He could have, and should have had a hat-trick today.
Referee performance
They say that the sign of a good refereeing performance is if you don't notice the official is there. That was the case with Roger East today as he had a quiet game without any major decisions to make. He will be hoping that the rest of his matches this season go just as smoothly as tonight's did.
What next?
Leicester: Leicester face a huge top-of-the-table Championship clash against league leaders Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
Man City: Man City, meanwhile, will look to keep up their title charge in the Premier League with an away match against Fulham.
Barney Corkhill
