Man City player ratings vs Brentford: Who needs Erling Haaland?! Sublime Rayan Cherki leads Cityzens into Carabao Cup semis as goal machine rests up on the bench

Manchester City cruised into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup as Rayan Cherki inspired them to a 2-0 win over Brentford on Wednesday. The France international opened the scoring with a stunning strike in the first half before a deflected effort from Savinho secured a spot in the final four for Pep Guardiola's side, while Erling Haaland was able to put his feet up and watch on from the bench.

Haaland was among a number of regulars to be named as substitutes by Guardiola, but City began in a positive manner as Cherki fired wide before Oscar Bobb shot straight at goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson. City were, however, lucky not to have Abdukodir Khusanov sent off when he brought down a goal-bound Kevin Schade, with there no VAR to intervene after the Uzbekistan defender was shown a yellow card.

Cherki was at the heart of everything City did well, and after he stung Valdimarrsson's palms from range, he eventually found the net when he lashed a shot into the top corner from 20 yards out with 32 minutes on the clock.

The home side continued to dominate after the break, and though James Trafford had to be alert to keep out efforts from both Kristoffer Ajer and Schade, Valdimarsson pulled off the best save of the match when he got down quickly to deny Phil Foden. He was powerless to stop Savinho from doubling City's lead, however, as the Brazilian's shot hit Ajer and looped over the Brentford 'keeper to end the match as a contest.

GOAL rates City's players from the Etihad Stadium...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
James Trafford (6/10):
Showed strong hands to parry Jensen and Ajer's long-range efforts on a night when he wasn't called upon all that often.
Rico Lewis (6/10):
Always looked to drive City forward when he picked up the ball, but not always perfect defensively as Henry got in behind on more than one occasion.
Abdukodir Khusanov (5/10):
A real game of two halves. Lucky to avoid a red card for his challenge on Schade and looked a liability whenever facing his own goal before half-time. Much improved after the break as he made some vital interventions while Brentford pushed for an equaliser.
Nathan Ake (6/10):
Solid at the heart of the City defence and helped lay an effective offside trap.
Nico O'Reilly (6/10):
Not his best game but still a decent outing from the England left-back.

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Midfield
Nico Gonzalez (7/10):
Strong at the base of the City midfield as he broke up play and used the ball effectively before being given a rest for the final quarter of the match.
Tijjani Reijnders (5/10):
Played a couple of nice through-balls, including for Savinho's goal, but was in and out of the game. Spent time playing as a false nine but didn't look comfortable.
Rayan Cherki (9/10):
A sublime 65 minutes on the pitch for the France international. Brought out the flicks and tricks from the very start and continually found space between the lines to produce his magic within. Tried his luck a couple of times from range before finding the net with his stunning, 20-yard strike.
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Attack
Oscar Bobb (6/10):
Caused Rico Henry problems on a couple of occasions early on, only to be forced off with an injury inside the opening 20 minutes.
Divine Mukasa (5/10):
Started up front but looked far more comfortable on the right after Bobb was forced off. Showed confidence with some eye-catching flicks and a curling shot that flew wide, but was in and out of the game.
Savinho (6/10):
Left Michael Kayode for dead on a couple of occasions but his final product was lacking until he got a bit of luck with Ajer's deflection that carried his shot into the goal to make it 2-0.

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Subs & Manager
Phil Foden (8/10):
On early for the stricken Bobb and instantly looked a class apart while playing as a false nine. Dropped deeper after the break and was unfortunate not to score before being replaced for the final 10 minutes.
Josko Gvardiol (6/10):
Gave O'Reilly the final 25 minutes off as he got some rare minutes at left-back.
Matheus Nunes (6/10):
Looked solid enough in his natural midfield position after replacing Gonzalez.
Bernardo Silva (6/10):
Full of energy after coming on for Cherki midway through the second half.
Charlie Gray (N/A):
On for his debut in the final 10 minutes.
Pep Guardiola (7/10):
Bobb's injury meant he couldn't give Foden the rest he would have liked to, but otherwise shuffled his pack effectively to ensure no slip-ups.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

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Subs & Manager