Manchester City booked their place in the Carabao Cup fourth round with a 2-1 victory over Watford at the Etihad Stadium.
Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes were on target on a mostly dominant night for the Premier League champions, though Tom Ince’s late stunner for the Championship side did make the closing stages less comfortable than expected.
The Hornets made the worst possible start against the eight-time winners, giving the ball away when trying to play out from the back as Jack Grealish found Doku, who turned and found the bottom corner.
Nunes, handed a rare start for City, doubled the hosts’ lead shortly before the half-time break with a low drive from the edge of the box.
Man City’s dominance continued after the break but they struggled to find that killer third goal, with Grealish, Rico Lewis and substitute Savinho going close.
And a nervy finish was set up late on as Ince curled home a beautiful strike from the right side of the box to halve the deficit.
But City did enough to see the game out as they await their fourth-round opponents in Wednesday night’s draw.
FULL-TIME | Into the next round of the @Carabao_Cup 💪
🩵 2-1 🐝 #ManCity | @okx pic.twitter.com/ecXNtgaai8
— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 24, 2024
