Carabao Cup 2019-20: Preston North End vs Manchester City Report

Manchester City registered their 13th consecutive Carabao Cup victory with an easy 0-3 win over Championship side Preston North End. The hosts had a hold on the match in the initial period but Pep Guardiola's young Manchester City team did not let the Lancastrians settle and went on to win the clash to take a step forward in the competition. City looked determined to clinch a hat-trick of Carabao Cup titles as they progress to the next round.

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Carabao Cup: About the match

After being pressed in the initial stages of the match, the Premier League champions opened their account in the 19th minute of the first half. Raheem Sterling danced around Preston's defence before slotting one home in front of the 6000 travelling City fans. In the 22nd minute, Gabriel Jesus managed to put one past the goalkeeper but was flagged offside. Pep Guardiola's men looked more dangerous towards the end of the first half as they started dominating the home defence on a higher scale. 

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Raheem Sterling successfully beat Ripley with a clever pass to meet Gabriel Jesus and the Brazillian doubled the lead for the visitors. The game was practically decided by the end of half-time as David Silva's cross deflected off Ryan Ledson and went past Ripley for an own goal. The second half was less fascinating, as Manchester City never looked in trouble of losing their lead. The only chance Preston created was when Josh Harrop's shot hit the woodwork. 

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Raheem Sterling was the star man of the match as he was included in all three goals. Pep proved that he takes all the domestic competitions seriously as he named a strong 11 against the Championship side. Sterling, Bernardo Silva and David Silva and Jesus were all put in the team with an experiment in their defence. City named Angelino and Joao Cancelo as full-backs and youngsters Eric Garcia and Taylor Harwood-Bellis in the centre. City will travel to Goodison Park for their next Premier League 2019/20 clash against Everton.

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