Last night’s Carabao Cup semi-final draw produced a mouth-watering Manchester derby after City saw off a spirited Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium and here’s what the media have been saying about the game and United’s reaction this morning
Carabao Cup draw reaction
Express: City still the best says Ole
“Solskjaer insisted that City are ‘still the best team in England’ after he found out his young side will be going up against Pep Guardiola’s men in the semi-finals of the EFL Cup.
‘It will be two fantastic days in Manchester. We really respect them and they are still the best team in England,’ said Solskjaer.
‘We need to get our game heads on and be ready, but we have already shown them this season that we can cause them problems.
‘We want to win every trophy we can and we have a chance.’
Goal: United relishing chance to face City
“United will play City in the semi-final over two legs, during weeks commencing January 6 and 27.
“Solskjaer’s men beat City 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium on December 7 and the United boss seemed pleased with the draw.
‘You always want to win trophies and you want to win games and we got a nice little draw,’ he said. ‘It’ll be exciting times coming up.
‘I don’t feel anything is written in the stars; you just work hard, take what you get and do the best out of it.
‘We’ve shown before that we can do well against City and teams like that.’
talkSPORT: United hurdle for City’s treble Carabao target
“Carabao Cup holders Manchester City will have to beat rivals Manchester United in the semi-finals if they want to regain their trophy in 2020.
“After defeating Oxford United 3-1 at Kassam Stadium on Wednesday night, Pep Guardiola’s side will have been delighted to learn they face the Red Devils at Old Trafford in January.
“United beat Colchester United at home on the same night to book their place in the final four, courtesy of goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
“City will have a chance to exact their revenge after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’ s side defeated the Premier League champions earlier this month at the Etihad in a 2-1 win which few fans saw coming.
“Elsewhere, Leicester City will take on Aston Villa in a West Midlands derby which is sure to entertain fans and neutrals alike.
“Brendan Rodgers’ side eked past Everton on penalties, while Villa thumped Liverpool’s reserve team 5-0 in the space of 24 hours to make the clash happen.
The first legs will be played on January 7 and 8, with the second legs on January 28 and 29.”
Match reaction
Sky Sports: Foden stands out again for City
Simeon Gholam writes: “In an otherwise underwhelming first half for Manchester City at the Kassam Stadium, it was Phil Foden who created the opening for the first goal, with a perfectly-weighted pass for Joao Cancelo.
“It was a third start in a row for the young English midfielder, who didn’t have an exceptional evening for City by any means, but still mustered a third assist in his three starts. He previously had four assists in total for the club.
“Even not at his best it was a calm, assured display from Foden. City face a huge Premier League game against Leicester on Saturday evening - live on Sky Sports Premier League - and Pep Guardiola may opt to revert to his more experienced players. It is, however, getting harder and harder for him to leave Foden out.”
That’s all for today. More gossip, rumour and build-up to the weekend tomorrow…
