Pep Guardiola losses only his 2nd Carabao Cup tie as Manchester City manager

For the 2nd time as Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola lost a Carabao Cup match in his seven year stay at the club. The Premier League champions were facing Southampton away for the Quarter-finals of the Carabao cup where they endured a tough loss by 2-0.

FT: Southampton 2-0 Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola has lost a domestic cup quarter-final tie for the first time in his managerial career. 😫 pic.twitter.com/IpQheuxcgF

— Squawka (@Squawka) January 11, 2023

It was Pep Guardiola’s second Carabao Cup loss as head coach and for the first time in his managerial career, the Spanish mastermind has lost a domestic league cup quarter-final. Moreover, this is for the second year in a row that Manchester City have been eliminated from the Carabao Cup.

Last season they met a similar fate against West Ham United in the fourth round by 5-3 on penalties. It is important to note the fact that City had won the competition 4 times in a row from 2018-2021. It was also for the second time under Pep Guardiola that they failed to get a shot on target. Despite having one of the best attacking firepower, City failed put the ball within the frame.

Southampton advance to the semi-finals after knocking out serial winners Manchester City 😳💥💥 #carabaocup pic.twitter.com/KWfGIUthHq

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 11, 2023

Their loss has come at a time when they are gearing up for the second Manchester derby of the season. City are currently 2nd in the PL standings and are 5 points away from league leaders Arsenal.

The top half of the Premier League table as it stands.👇 pic.twitter.com/bidAqkOt1m

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) January 2, 2023

Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji were on the bench in the first-half and were introduced in the second-half but Southampton’s resilience in the defense did not let them find the back of the net even for once. City’s World cup winner with Argentina Julian Alvarez had the best chance of pulling one back but his shot went far eventually.

Pep Guardiola’s class and tactical ability will not be overshadowed by this loss but his tendency of overthinking has taken city out from 1st of the 4 tournaments.