Southampton 2-0 Manchester City LIVE: Premier League champions STUNNED by two first-half goals as Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo both produce fine finishes in Carabao Cup quarter-final
Follow Sportsmail’s live blog for the Carabao Cup quarter-final clash between Southampton and Manchester City.
Host commentator
What a goal that was from the Southampton midfielder.
Although Ortega’s positioning definitely comes into question there – poor from City’s cup keeper.
OH MY WORD! THAT FINISH! 🔥
Southampton have TWO! pic.twitter.com/4j5V8iVkSi
Lyanco – who has been brilliant so far – dives in – and Grealish takes it past him.
Southampton defend excellently though and Caleta-Car blocks his shot out for a corner.
Bazunu punches clear and again Southampton deal with it.
Just over 10 minutes until half-time.
This has been a simply sublime 30 minutes from Southampton and we’re on for a huge upset.
They’ve been brilliant in their aggression and have scored two fine goals to put themselves into dreamland.
WOW! Djenepo what a goal.
Southampton play the ball forward and it comes to Djenepo .
He spots Ortega off his line and pulls the trigger from 35 yards and lobs the City keeper and it’s in.
What a goal and Southampton are in dreamland.
City then begin to threaten though Grealish and Palmer but some dogged defending helps Southampton to avert the threat.
So far so good for Southampton.
Southampton take the lead against Man City!! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/oW2I2OQP04
A cynical foul from Lavia as he drags down Gundogan with the midfielder running towards Southampton’s goal.
City are yet to threaten and need to up their game here.
MARA! What a goal – his first for Southampton!
And it’s just what they deserve.
Lyanco intercepts the ball after a poor pass from Gomez.
The defender plays another brilliant ball in to Mara who runs off Walker and he fires in a delightful first-time finish past Ortega – what a brilliant goal.
City need to wake-up here.
More good play from Southampton.
Lyanco plays an excellent ball into Mara. He takes a great touch, but on the spin the young striker slices his left-footed effort wide.
A good chance and it continues the positive start by the hosts.
It’s been a really positive start from Nathan Jones’s side so far here.
They’re snapping at the heels of the City defenders and they’re slightly rattled as Walker misplaces a pass and it goes straight out of play.
Meanwhile, Saints supporters are taunting City fans with chants of ‘Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, you’ll never win that’, in reference to their 2010 win in the competition.
In the other quarter-final tonight, Willy Boly has given Forest the lead against his former club.
Meanwhile, Southampton continue to pressure City’s goal but Djenepo fires over with his left foot.
An outstanding save from Ortega.
Southampton force a corner and the ball bounces out to Caleta-Car.
His snap shot is going in but Ortega tips it around the post – it was going in.
The Saints force another corner but City clear – promising from Southampton though and that got the fans off their seats.
It’s been a quiet start at St Mary’s with the hosts pressing aggressively and showing their intent.
City have dominated possession though and you just feel that Southampton need to keep them at bay for the first 20 minutes here to have any chance.
Foden is lining up in the centre with Palmer on the right wing.
Some good pressing from City then forces a mistake from Salisu. Palmer breaks away but Gundogan drags his effort wide.
Alvarez gets us going.
Here we go…
And kick off is moments away.
Southampton’s new signing Carlos Alcaraz has just been presented to the home fans on the pitch much to their delight.
They need a big start tonight if they’re going to have any chance of reaching the final four.
Southampton have enjoyed a plethora of League One fixtures on their path to the quarter-finals.
They defeated Cambridge in the second round, before overcoming Sheffield Wednesday on penalties.
The Saints then defeated Lincoln City 2-1 in their fourth round clash.
Man City have endured a much tougher run, defeating both Chelsea and Liverpool before tonight’s match.
The EFL Cup can often be pushed down the pecking order by the Premier League’s top teams, but this hasn’t stopped Man City enjoying a glittering run in the competition.
They’ve won the tournament in six of the last nine seasons, including four times under Pep Guardiola.
City had won the trophy four years in a row before they crashed out on penalties to West Ham in the fourth round last season
Just a reminder that you can also follow tonight’s other semi-final clash between Nottingham Forest and Wolves.
A huge opportunity for either of the Premier League strugglers to reach the last four of a domestic cup competition.
You can follow our live blog below.
Some transfer news coming out of Southampton ahead of tonight’s game and a big boost for the club.
They’ve confirmed the signing of exciting Argentinian midfielder Carlos Alcaraz from Racing Club.
A statement of intent from the Saints.
Midfielder Carlos Alcaraz has joined #SaintsFC on a four-and-a-half-year deal from @RacingClub ✍️
The story has been different for Southampton with Nathan Jones coming under significant pressure despite having overseen just four league games.
Unfortunately, he has lost them all – which has led to Saints fans already calling for his head – but they secured an important victory against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup on Saturday.
City have been in impressive form since the World Cup break.
They have won four of their five games since the resumption of football in England, with their only draw being with Everton – who held them 1-1 on New Year’s Eve after Demarai Gray scored with the Toffees only attempt on target.
Confidence is high after they thrashed Chelsea 4-0 in the FA Cup on Sunday
These sides have met once already this season and it was a comfortable victory for City.
Erling Haaland netted his 20th goal of the season in the clash which took place in early October, while Foden, Mahrez and Cancelo also scored.
You can read our full report from that match below.
It’s a strong Southampton team with former Man City academy stars Gavin Bazunu and Romeo Lavia starting, while Sam Edozie is on the bench.
New signing Mislav Orsic joins him, and he is accompanied by former City keeper Willy Caballero.
Che Adams is also among the substitutes, along with Joe Aribo – the pair have tended to start the majority of Saints games so far this season.
They’re not at full strength – perhaps explained by the weekend’s huge clash with Everton.
YOU REDS 🔴⚪️
How #SaintsFC will line-up against #ManCity: pic.twitter.com/Kb75l2qV6B
Kalvin Phillips does indeed make his first start for the club.
It’s a rotated team from Pep Guardiola, with reserve keeper Ortega Moreno getting a rare start, while Cole Palmer and Julian Alvarez are also given opportunities from the off.
It looks like Kyle Walker could be playing at centre-back and Phil Foden may be having a run-out in central midfield which would be an intriguing proposition.
It’s a strong bench with Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland both there.
🔵 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🔵
XI | Ortega Moreno, Cancelo, Walker, Laporte, Gomez, Phillips, Gundogan (C), Foden, Palmer, Alvarez, Grealish
SUBS | Ederson, Ake, Haaland, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Akanji, Mahrez, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/fEfzmlDegL
It’s been a tough introduction to life at Man City for Kalvin Phillips.
Having struggled with a shoulder injury, Pep Guardiola also called the midfielder ‘overweight’ when he returned from World Cup duty with England.
But it looks as if he is in line to make a full City debut seven months after his £42million summer move from Leeds.
Team news is set to be out at 7!
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The Saints have arrived ahead of kick-off for tonight’s clash.
It’s a big evening for Nathan Jones and his side after their 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The former Luton Town boss has endured a tricky start at St Mary’s since joining in November and they’ll have to be at their best to get anything this evening.
Tonight’s game is the final of four Carabao Cup quarter-finals to take place this week.
Last night saw Newcastle defeat Leicester City 2-0 to reach their first domestic cup semi-final in 18 years.
Elsewhere, Manchester United beat League One side Charlton Athletic 3-0 to also secure their place in the final four.
Tonight sees Nottingham Forest host Wolves at 7.45pm, before Southampton entertain Manchester City at 8pm.
And welcome to tonight’s Carabao Cup quarter-final clash between Southampton and Manchester City.
Stay with us for all the build-up, team news and updates from this evening’s game at St Mary’s.
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