PRESTON NORTH END 0, MANCHESTER CITY 3
Taylor Harwood-Bellis made his Manchester City debut alongside fellow youngster Eric Garcia as they beat Preston North End in the Carabao Cup.
Embed from Getty ImagesRaheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus scored early while Ryan Ledson’s own goal before the break effectively ended the tie at Deepdale.
Both sides hit the woodwork after the break through Josh Harrop and Phil Foden but City were never under threat from Preston.
Only David Silva and Bernardo Silva had retained their places in the starting line from the 8-0 thrashing of Watford last Saturday.
Preston themselves made six changes from their last game.
Making their full debuts for the Carabao Cup holders were Joao Cancelo and Harwood-Bellis who, at just 17, settled in right away.
They joined Garcia and Angelino in a new look back line in front of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
Despite rotation, City’s midfield and attack looked far more formidable even up against a Preston side that was third in the Championship.
Foden was making his first start of the season after recovering from a stomach virus.
He lined up alongside David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan, with Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, and Gabriel Jesus ahead of them.
Ex Manchester United player Josh Harrop had a couple of first half chances for the home side but City, who were in control of the game from the start, soon took the lead.
The irrepressible Sterling had an effort saved by ex-Oldham Athletic goalkeeper Connor Ripley but the England man wasn’t going to be denied.
He slalomed his way past a clutch of Preston players after Garcia had fed him the ball and unleashed a fine strike, to put City into the lead with a slight deflection in the 20th minute.
Sterling set up Gabriel Jesus who doubled the lead after 35 minutes from 10 yards out with a precise finish.
David Silva’s effort took a wicked deflection to beat Ripley – looping in off defender Ryan Ledson in the 42nd minute to effectively end the Preston resistance before half time.
Both teams hit the woodwork in the second half but Manchester City comfortably beat Preston North End at Deepdale
Claudio Bravo saved easily from Tom Barkhuizen before half time while Harrop rattled the woodwork in the second half as Preston tried gamely to get on the scoresheet.
But City retained the upper hand despite allowing the home side chances to get back into the game.
Garcia narrowly missed the chance to make it 4-0 for City when he failed to connect with David Silva’s cross.
Guardiola made two changes, bringing on Benjamin Mendy for Angelino while Adrian Bernabe replaced David Silva.
Foden hit the crossbar soon after that when Sterling set him up before he was replaced by Riyad Mahrez with 17 minutes to go.
Cancelo and Jesus passed up chances to add to the 3-0 scoreline when set up by Bernabe late on but City had long since moved on to the weekend.
MATCH STATS – Preston North End 0, Manchester City 3 (Carabao Cup 3rd Round)
Preston North End: Ripley, Fisher, Storey, Davies, Rafferty, Ledson, Browne, Potts, Johnson (Bayliss 76), Harrop (Ginnelly 71), Barkhuizen (Nugent 63)
Preston North End Subs not used: Rudd, Green, Stockley, Huntington
Booked: Harrop 50
Man City: Bravo, Cancelo, Harwood-Bellis, Garcia, Angelino (Mendy 60), Foden, Gundogan, David Silva (Bernabe 63), Bernardo Silva, Sterling (Mahrez 73), Jesus
Man City Subs not used: Carson, Rodri, Otamendi, Dionkou
Goals: Sterling 20; Jesus 35; Ledson 42 og
Referee: Lee Mason