The holders were beaten 5-3 on penalties by West Ham United after an inspired Alphonse Areola kept them at bay.

Phil Foden and missed their penalties, which allowed Said Benrahma to score the winning spot kick and take David Moyes’ men into the next round.

The loss means that City’s five-year run without a defeat in the competition, as well as their streak of four Carabao Cups in a row, has come to an end.

“An incredible run has finished [but] we finished in a good way,” said the City boss.

“We played in a really good way, creating chances against a team who defended deep.

“On penalties, they were better. Congratulations to West Ham. Next year we will be back.”

City have dominated the competition under Pep Guardiola, beating Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur on the way to each other four they have picked up under the Catalan coach.

Their last loss in the competition came in the 2016-17 season when they were narrowly beaten by rivals and eventual victors Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The Citizens have been lauded for their squad depth throughout their period of dominance in the League Cup as the side have several great players at their disposal in each position.

Their period of dominance led to them joining Liverpool as the record holders of the League Cup with eight each.

Guardiola praised West Ham’s performance in the game and said that they brought out a good performance from his side in return.

“Not just this season, the previous one [too],” Guardiola said of West Ham’s progress under Moyes.

“One of the toughest games we played at home when one side was better than us last season was West Ham.

“They’re doing well in the Premier League and the Europa League and now they are in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

“Fantastic team, fantastic manager. We knew it. We did our game. I didn’t see the stats, but I thought we did a good game.

“Sometimes it happens. Next season we will be back.”

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Negotiations over the prospective new deal have been ongoing for three months and Foden has continued to play a starring role for his boyhood club in that timespan.

Early discussions have been aiming at a six-year deal that will keep him at the club until 2027.

It is common knowledge that Guardiola thinks highly of the 21-year-old and the Catalonian is keen to reward him with a new deal that underlines his importance to the side.

In a tweet posted on Wednesday morning, Romano said: “Talks are progressing between Manchester City and Phil Foden’s camp over [a] new contract. Negotiations have been going on for three months and feelings are ‘optimistic’.

“Pep Guardiola wants Foden to be [a] key part of Man City future project.”

Foden has had a fantastic start to the 2021-22 season with the Manchester club and recently picked up the Man of the Match for England in their 5-0 World Cup qualifier win against Andorra.

Previous to the international break, he was named City’s Man of the Match for his starring role in the 2-2 away draw with Liverpool.

Foden was integral to the Cityzens’ attack throughout the game and scored to bring them level after Sadio Mané’s opener.

His five appearances for the Premier League champions so far this season has yielded no more than his goal against the Reds, but his impact stretches beyond goals and assists.

The England international is a focal point for Pep Guardiola’s team in the final third and his 48.28 passes attempted and 81% pass completion per 90 over the last 365 days underlines this.

Foden’s skills on the ball are worth taking note of as well as the winger makes 7.6 progressive carries per 90 and is a threatening figure for defences across the league.

With a new deal on the horizon, more of this can be expected for seasons to come.

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The two teams met on Sunday and Foden troubled the Liverpool defence throughout the game, scoring his side’s first goal to cancel out Sadio Mané’s opener.

The 20-year-old had played a big part in City’s dominant showing in the first half and came close to opening the scoring, being denied by Liverpool shot-stopper Alisson from close range.

The winger linked up well with Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva as their team took control of proceedings in the first half after a strong start from the hosts.

Right-back and former Manchester City player James Milner struggled to keep up with Foden as the Englishman put in a performance rivalled only by Liverpool forward Mo Salah – the pair shared Sky’s Man of the Match award.

For his goal, Foden found comfort in the space Milner had left as the Reds’ defence narrowed and the number 47 made no mistake with his strike into the bottom corner to bring his side level.

Foden praised his side’s character following the conclusion of the game: “It’s very difficult to come here with the fans, it’s one of the most difficult places to come to and I feel we dealt with it very good today.

“It was end to end at times, it was such a brilliant game, on another day we could have come away with the three points.

“It shows our character. We’ve not won here a lot, but we carried on with our football after going behind and we played really well today.”

Manager Pep Guardiola was also impressed with his side’s performance and labelled Foden as a “special player.”

“Phil is a special player, we know it,” Guardiola said. “Fortunately he’s back now, he’s a fantastic player but not just him; Rodri, Gabriel, everyone was fantastic today.”

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PSG got their first Champions League win of the campaign and their first win against Manchester City at the Parc des Princes.

Lionel Messi scored his first goal for the club to seal the victory after midfielder Idrissa Gueye’s opener.

Manchester City were dominant in possession but failed to get on the scoresheet in a night that saw last season’s slain semi-finalists get revenge on the silver medalists.

City pushed for an equaliser for most of the game but Messi’s fantastic first goal for his new club brought an end to the challenge the Premier League champions had posed.

The Argentine picked the ball up from a deep position and raced towards the retreating Manchester City back line with pace.

Centre-forward Kylian made a diagonal run to the 18-yard line, where he received the ball and played it back to Messi, who struck first time and curled the ball into the top-right corner of City’s net.

“We know it’s impossible to control Leo all 90 minutes,” Guardiola said in his post-match interview. ”

Of course, he came back from some injuries, which is why he needed a bit of rhythm but we know him quite well and when he can run and be close to the ball he’s unstoppable.

“The way we have done is minimise this as much as possible and create the chances that we could create. We arrived here and played our game.

“They defended deep with seven players, and it’s always the risk if you lose the ball and they can make one pass with Verratti who is an exceptional player and they make contact with Neymar or Messi and run it’s always difficult.”

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City played in the final of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in its history in May but failed to win the top prize, losing 1-0 to English rivals Chelsea.

However, Guardiola has praised the journey to the final, which consisted of 11 wins and a draw, as an achievement and not a failure.

The Manchester-based team won a group that consisted of Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille, and beat Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and 2019/20 finalists Paris Saint-Germain on the road to the last fixture on the competition’s calendar.

“People can say Man City was a failure but it was an incredible achievement last season, playing really well in many of the games and losing well against a big contender,” Guardiola said.

“Every time I start this competition with drive. I’m incredibly happy here. Man City made a step forward last season, we improved a lot. We had 13 games and we won 11.

“We played incredibly well in Porto [in the group stage] when we drew and deserved to win. We lost the final.

“Now we start a new one and every team wants to win. We’re going to try but I won’t tell you which team is going to win because I don’t know it.”

Manchester City enter this year’s competition as joint-favourites in the eyes of the bookmakers alongside slain semi-finalists from last year, PSG, at 7/2.

City have yet to add a European trophy to the collection that only swells with each passing season.

They begin their quest for a first-ever piece of silverware on the European stage when they face German outfit RB Leipzig on Wednesday, September 15 at 8 pm.

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Manchester City thrashed Arsenal with a five-goal drubbing at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Arsenal’s slow start to the season failed to get up to speed once again as defensive ineptitude and calamitous performances were all they could muster against a rampant Manchester City.

City made use of the false nine system their boss Pep Guardiola had implemented last season, with Ferran Torres starring in the title role.

The North London side’s defending in their own box was worryingly poor as Ilkay Gundogan headed home in the seventh minute.

Torres’ first of the day came five minutes later with the same problems evident in the Arsenal backline.

Arsenal were disconnected and disparaged throughout the game while Manchester City played with swagger and made a rout look uniform.

Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka was sent off for a two-footed lunge on Joao Cancelo and Gabriel Jesus added a third for City before the half ended to kill the game.

Rodri added a fourth early in the second half with Torres adding his second and wrapping up the scoring six minutes from time.

Arsenal failed to get on the scoreboard as they failed to get a shot on target in a miserable performance that will surely put Mikel Arteta’s job under intense scrutiny – the side’s only shot came early in the first half.

The former Arsenal captain has had multiple high-profile tactical mishaps – the match against Chelsea least week being a recent example of this.

Pep, on the other hand, will have gained more faith in the formation that took City to their first-ever UEFA Champions League final.

The fluidity on display throughout the match and the seamless transitions between defence and attack, as well as Jesus’ continued run of impressive form on the wing, will only serve to compliment a devastating setup further.

Manchester City will face Leicester City after the international break on Sunday, September 11.

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The 25-year-old penned a six-year deal after joining the side for £100 million, making the English international the most expensive player from the country ever.

The move is also the priciest in British footballing history, worth £11 million more than Paul Pogba’s return to Manchester United in 2016.

Grealish achieved a total of 32 goals and 43 assists in 213 appearances during his time with the Aston Villa senior side.

The signing is one of the biggest of the summer window and only pales in comparison to Romelu Lukaku’s imminent move to Chelsea when it comes to money.

The winger will be unveiled to the City faithful following his debut for the side at the weekend in the FA Community Shield defeat to Leicester City.

Grealish came off the bench at Wembley during the 1-0 loss to the 2020/21 FA Cup winners.

The boyhood Villain did not do too much during his 25-minute cameo but better judgement will be made of him as he earns substantially more minutes for Pep Guardiola’s European giants.

He played on the left wing for Pep’s team in a front three that included former Leicester man Riyad Mahrez and academy product Ben Knight.

The event will take place at the Etihad Stadium’s West Reception, beginning at 5 pm and with Jack arriving at approximately 6 pm.

The event will be hosted by City Square presenters Danny Jackson and Natalie Pike.

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Liverpool were crowned Premier League champions midweek after Man City lost to Chelsea. It meant Liverpool ended their drought of a Premier League title for 30 years. The game against City was earmarked a title decider game but obviously now that has not come to fruition. Pep Guardiola said, “Of course we are going to do it,”. “We are going to do the guard of honour of course he told Sky Sports. 

The Spaniard continued, “Always we receive Liverpool when they come to our house in an incredible way. They cannot complain and of course we are going to do it because they deserve it.” Liverpool have been at their best this season. They have won 28 games from their 31 to date. With 7 games to go they have already wrapped up the title. Many have suggested City’s hunger may have dipped due to securing the treble last season. However, Guardiola rubbished these reports. He said, “A team that wins eight titles (trophies) in the last three years have passion, in every single game, in every competition, everywhere. No one in this country can say that”.

All is not lost for Man City though, they are still in the Champions League and FA Cup. Champions League action doesn’t get back underway until August, while they will face Newcastle in the FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday. Guardiola said, “Right now it is a priority because it is the next game and we can get Wembley again in the semi-final. I saw Newcastle and they have the weapons to punish us”. “The important thing is this game and after you can finish the Premier League as best as possible, finish second, and after that we have time to prepare for (Real) Madrid.”

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