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The Hawthorn almost saw an upset on Wednesday evening as West Bromwich Albion went down two goals to one against Manchester City in the 3rd round of the Carabao (EFL) Cup.
Leroy Sane, however, came to the rescue, as Manchester City ensured safe passage to next round
The German's brace was the headline grabber of the night, as City made eight changes to the side that thrashed Watford 6-0 away from home, over the past weekend.
In a game in which both coaches have their own styles of play, the teams went toe to toe with each other and there were enough flashpoints in the match to make it worthy of a knockout clash.
Both teams wanted to stamp their authority on the game. Nevertheless, there was only one winner on the night and it was City, who took the laurels.
A feisty game which also saw Mike Jones, the referee, dish out 5 yellow cards, was indeed an entertaining tie. Here are some of the talking points from the highly entertaining knockout tie:
#1 Leroy Sane keeps a sane head to calmly put away the winner
The Baggies will be disappointed with the loss, given the way they had hauled themselves back into the game.
Leroy Sane had been a threat throughout the evening and made the most of his start by being a persistent threat throughout.
His two goals were indicative of the confidence currently blazing through this City side. The Cityzens have been rampant this week, having scored at will and they were on the front foot as early as the third minute in last night's encounter.
A diagonal ball from Mangala found Sterling on the right who was quick to foray into the West Brom half and cross in a ball for the arriving Gundogan.
The German international saw his initial shot blocked off, only for Sane to arrive and put an emphatic finish past Foster, the WBA goalkeeper.
But the second goal was a true beauty as City repelled an Albion attack before going down the other end to score. The movement for the winner was indeed poetic as Sane sped down the right, only to cut in, switch to his left foot, and curl the ball into the goal.
#2 Tony Pulis’s men show fearlessness and grit
Tony Pulis has often been associated with putting out teams which are defensive in nature. But, in a result-based business like football, Pulis is a pragmatic person and his team combines that pragmatism with an air of fearlessness.
Over the course of the week, City’s attacking riches had been well highlighted but that didn’t mean that the Baggies would cower and roll over like the other opponents City encountered over the past weekend.
Instead, thanks to Ben Foster and some enterprising team play, the Baggies came quite close to causing an upset.
If Hal-Robson Kanu and Morrison would have kept their heads in the dying minutes, then the result could have well been different.
A host of chances for the Welsh forward should have been converted, before the eventual winner from Sane.
#3 City look at the gains and positives
Guardiola opted to start with Mangala and Stones for this game and although it was not the most calming of displays by the center-halves, Guardiola will welcome the win.
Much has been said about the lack of cover in central defense with Kompany injured but on the evidence of last evening, a combination of spatial awareness and good communication is still possible to eke out the best from Mangala.
That aside, the successful return of Ilkay Gundogan was one of the highlights for City. The German seemed up to speed and could have been on the score-sheet himself only for Ben Foster to deny him in the opening minutes.
However, Gundogan picked up an injury in the 55th minute and immediately signalled to the bench that he wants to be taken off. He walked back to the dugout and though Guardiola claims it not serious, City are still waiting for a final word from the doctors.
The match also featured Fabian Delph - another forgotten face, and City as a unit were pretty cohesive and smooth when it came to attacking plays.
Guardiola is bound to be pleased with the squad strength as he looks to challenge for trophies on all four fronts.
#4 Ben Foster underlines his importance
The English keeper has been an important cog in Pulis’s team since his arrival, and on Wednesday night, he once again showed his class.
A string of saves was the primary reason why City were only able to put two past the WBA defence.
He was well helped-out by his teammates, who restricted this Manchester City side to only 58% possession, while restricting them to only 6 shots on target.
Most of the shots on target were well-taken shots which seemed destined for the goal, only for Foster to pull off some outrageous saves.
The keeper kept the Baggies in the game and when Claudio Yacob grabbed the equalizer 18 minutes from time, one genuinely felt that there was an upset on the cards.
But, that was as good as it got for the Baggies.
#5 Guardiola will look to maintain current run of results
The Citizens welcome Crystal Palace this weekend and one hopes that Guardiola’s men will be as ruthless as last week.
Last season around, City were flying in the initial stages of the season only for them to fizzle out as the campaign progressed.
Since then, Guardiola has invested considerably in the squad.
Hence no excuses of the team fizzling out will be entertained this season. City has a challenging couple of games before their much-anticipated fixture against Chelsea on the 30th of September.
City were unlucky last season, in a game of fine margins and Pep will look to rectify that that.
Gundogan's return gives City further options in the middle alongside the likes of Silva and De Bruyne.
Guardiola’s team currently sits atop the Premier League table, albeit, only by an alphabetic margin.
However, a win over Crystal Palace and then against last season’s Champions will indeed be a welcome tonic for a side that has promised so much but delivered so little.
