Pep Guardiola explained why he takes the Carabao Cup so seriously after Manchester City moved into the quarter-finals.
Sergio Aguero marked his 350th City appearance with a brace after Nicolas Otamendi had given them the lead against Southampton, to seal a 3-1 win for the defending champions.
The Carabao Cup was the first trophy Guardiola lifted as manager of City, and he won it again last season as part of an unprecedented quadruple of domestic honours.
With City now in the last eight of the competition again, Guardiola revealed why he places value on it, where others might not.
“The Carabao Cup is a good competition. We are already at the quarter-finals so we’ll see the draw. You cannot win four titles in one season when you don’t play games so seriously. For the players who didn’t play the last games it’s good for me to see the rhythm.”
While admitting his affection for the tournament, Guardiola was also given the chance to rotate his lineup and see some of his squad players in action. One such player was academy graduate Tommy Doyle, who made his senior City debut at the age of 18 – and his manager was pleased with what he saw.
“He played well in a position that isn’t his natural position, usually he is further forward. He played really good. Congratulations to him on his debut.”
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