The Capital One Cup quarter-finals saw both Manchester clubs progress and it is little surprise to see five City players make Goal‘s Team of the Round.
However, we start in goal where Leicester City’s Kasper Schmeichel (3.5) features. The Foxes may have succumbed to a 3-1 defeat to Manuel Pellegrini’s men, but it could have been so many more if not for some superb shot-stopping from the 27-year-old.
In defence Manchester City duo Aleksandar Kolarov (3.5) and Vincent Kompany (3.5) both start. Kolarov defended well and also provided an attacking threat, scoring with a thumping free kick from distance as well as laying on a superb chance for Edin Dzeko. Kompany, meanwhile, provided his usual calmness and composure to the backline.
Lining up alongside Kompany in the heart of defence is West Ham’s James Collins (3.5). The centre-back had a tough job against the recalled Emmanuel Adebayor but put in a strong performance and made some fine interventions as West Ham dumped Spurs out of the cup.
Completing the defence is Patrice Evra (3.5) at left-back. The Manchester United defender bagged a rare goal with a superb finish to finish off Stoke City and send the Premier League champions safely through to the semi-finals on a stormy night.
Into midfield and we begin with James Milner (4) who continued his recent fine form with another sumptuous display against Leicester, setting up two goals for Edin Dzeko.
Another man who is surely impressing Manuel Pellegrini is David Silva (4) who simply ran the game at the King Power Stadium. The Spain international linked the play with ease, earning himself a standing ovation from the home crowd when he was substituted.
Arguably the shock of the round came at the Stadium of Light where Sunderland saw off Chelsea, winning 2-1 after extra-time, and earning Emanuele Giaccherini (4) a spot in our team after he created the Black Cats’ equaliser.
Team-mate Sung-Yong Ki (4) was the match-winner, however, stroking home the winner after coming on as a substitute to end Chelsea’s hopes of winning the tournament.
Rounding off the midfield is Manchester United winger Ashley Young (4). The former Aston Villa man has not enjoyed the best of seasons but impressed at the Britannia Stadium firing home an unstoppable opener in awful conditions at Stoke.
Completing our team is Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko (4). The former Wolfsburg man was offered a rare chance to impress in the first-team and certainly took it against Leicester, scoring twice in a fine all-round display.
Nate,Your insight is awyals appreciated. I do have to say that there are some significant differences from last year when you look at the squad.Firstly, Joe Allen is masterful while last year we were seeing recruits that were not in the right mind for the system. The new recruitment scheme will be abundantly more fruitful if our head is only turned by those that fit the system.Secondly, the average age on the field my be lower. It would be an interesting analysis. My guess is that while the team was younger we have completed more passes and at a higher success rate as well.Cheers,Jared
I think you’ve just captured the answer perfectly