Manchester City progressed to the EFL Cup semi-finals with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Brentford at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, but the win came at a cost as Oscar Bobb limped off with a hamstring injury.
Goals from Rayan Cherki and Savinho secured City's passage to the last four, where they will face the winners of the Tottenham vs Liverpool tie.
Bobb injury adds to Guardiola's winger woes
Already without Jeremy Doku through injury and Omar Marmoush due to Africa Cup of Nations commitments, Pep Guardiola lost a third wide option when Bobb hobbled off after just 19 minutes.
The Norwegian had been one of seven changes from City's Gameweek 16 starting XI but could not complete even a quarter of the match before a muscular problem forced his withdrawal.
"After 10-15 minutes, he complained about the muscular reason. Apparently it is a muscular injury in the hamstring. So, hopefully, it's not a big one and he'll come back soon."
— Pep Guardiola on Oscar Bobb
The injury could be a significant boost to Cherki and Phil Foden's playing time over the festive period. With Savinho handed 90 minutes in the cup while the in-form duo had their game-time managed — Cherki playing 66 minutes, Foden 63 — both appear well-positioned for Saturday's Premier League clash against West Ham.
Guardiola explains Foden and Cherki substitutions
The City boss was candid about his decision to withdraw his key attackers, citing the need to manage workloads ahead of a crucial run of fixtures.
"Of course, I didn't want to play Nico O'Reilly 90 minutes again. They play a lot of minutes and we have Saturday, a massively important game against West Ham. Similar with Phil, I didn't want to play the minutes that he played but the injury for Oscar, couldn't happen that."
— Pep Guardiola
Despite rotating seven players, Guardiola praised the impact of those who came off the bench, including Joško Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes and Bernardo Silva.
"In the second half, Rayan Cherki could not do again the job he should do defensively, had no energy to do it. Savinho, neither, and that's why with impact [off the bench] from Josko, from Matheus and especially from Bernardo help us lot to increase our rhythm."
— Pep Guardiola
Cherki stunner opens the scoring
The Frenchman, who has been in sensational form with seven assists in as many Premier League appearances, turned goalscorer with a brilliant strike from a half-cleared corner.
It was one of 10 shots City had from outside the box as Brentford's defensive shape limited clear-cut chances. Savinho's heavily deflected effort in the second half secured the victory.
Igor Thiago doubt for Brentford
Brentford travelled to Manchester without key striker Igor Thiago and midfielder Jordan Henderson, both absent due to "knocks" according to interim head coach Keith Andrews.
"Couple of knocks, Thiago, Jordan. They didn't quite make this one but not far off, so we'll just see how they are tomorrow and then we'll dust ourselves down and see how everyone else is."
— Keith Andrews
Both players have been carefully managed throughout the season, with neither starting a midweek game in any competition in 2025/26. Andrews will provide an update on their availability for Saturday's home match against Wolves at his Thursday press conference.
Haaland rested ahead of West Ham
Erling Haaland was an unused substitute as Guardiola chose to give his star striker a full week of rest between Premier League fixtures.
The Norwegian, who has scored 15 goals in 16 league games this season, will be fresh for Saturday's trip to the London Stadium against a West Ham side yet to keep a clean sheet under Nuno Espírito Santo.
What's next?
Manchester City face West Ham away in the Premier League on Saturday (5:30pm GMT), while Brentford host Wolves at the same time as they look to bounce back from cup elimination.
City's EFL Cup semi-final opponents will be determined by the outcome of Tottenham vs Liverpool on Thursday evening.
