Huddersfield 0-2 Man City: Foden shines with one goal and one assist

Phil Foden registered a goal and an assist as Manchester City earned a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town in the third round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Match Report

Foden scored a wonderful opener in the first half before turning provider for Savinho to make it 2-0 with 16 minutes to play, as Pep Guardiola's team held their League One opponents at arm's length at the Accu Stadium.

City dominated possession in the early stages without truly threatening Lee Nicholls' goal, but the Huddersfield goalkeeper had to pick the ball out of his net in the 18th minute.

Foden played a neat one-two with debutant Divine Mukasa on the edge of the area, then arrowed a left-footed strike into the bottom-right corner.

City struggled to carve out clear-cut chances for the remainder of the first half, though they should have doubled their lead when Nico O'Reilly burst through on goal in the 53rd minute, only to see his clipped effort smothered by Nicholls.

Zepiqueno Redmond then volleyed over the crossbar at the other end, but City got their second goal in the 74th minute, with Savinho thrashing an effort in off the underside of the bar after Foden found him on the left side of the area.

Huddersfield almost teed up a grandstand finish when Cameron Ashia's curling effort hit the inside of the post with James Trafford beaten, but that was the only close call for City.

Data Debrief: City stop EFL Cup rot

City were once dominant in the EFL Cup, lifting the trophy in four consecutive seasons between 2017-18 and 2020-21.

However, City had lost their touch in the competition in recent years, losing three of their last four EFL Cup matches going into Wednesday's game – as many defeats as they suffered in their first 29 games in the competition under Guardiola (22 wins, five draws).

But Foden's strike settled any potential nerves, and the England international managed three shots, created three chances and played 38 of his 66 passes in the final third before being substituted in the 77th minute.

There was also a promising first appearance for Mukasa, with the 18-year-old leading all players on the pitch for shots (six) and shots inside the area (five), also laying on an assist and completing 26 of his 29 passes.

Match Events

9' Bobb looks to cause problems down the right and Mukasa's shot is blocked

18' GOAL! Foden opens the scoring with a lovely finish! Huddersfield 0-1 Man City

28' Foden has a free-kick which is high over the bar

31' Mukasa's shot from distance is deflected off for a corner

38' Lovely pass from Foden to Lewis who sends a cross but there's no players there

47' Rico Lewis has to walk off a bit of a heavy challenge

47' O'Reilly cuts back and Mukasa might get a shot but it's scrambled away

53' Highlight from Huddersfield vs Man City

60' Mukasa can't quite get a clean connection on the strike

67' Bobb decides to go for it himself and his low, powerful shot is saved well

74' GOAL! Savinho doubles the lead from Foden's assist! Huddersfield 0-2 Man City

82' Nico has a powerful strike but he can't keep it down and it flies over the bar

Line-ups

Huddersfield XI: Lee Nicholls, Murray Wallace, Dion Charles, Marcus Harness, Lasse Sørensen, David Kasumu, Ben Wiles, Sean Roughan, Josh Feeney, Zepiqueno Redmond, Daniel Vost

Subs: Alfie May, Ryan Ledson, Joe Taylor, Bojan Radulović, Leo Castledine, Joe Low, Owen Goodman, Cameron Ashia, Jay Smith-Sway

Man City XI: Ake, Stones, Foden, Matheus Nunes, Nico González, James Trafford, Bobb, Lewis, Savinho, Nico O'Reilly, Divine Mukasa

Subs: Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Donnarumma, Kalvin Phillips, Reijnders, Jaden Heskey, Reigan Heskey, Stephen Mfuni, Kaden Braithwaite