City On Fire

I must admit: a part of me died when Kyle Walker left Manchester City. It was like an era had changed; a shifting of the times; if you will. Within a flash; it seemed that one of the greatest sides in world history was being dismantled before our eyes. Gone were Ederson; Manuel Akanji; Aymeric Laporte; Ilkay Gundogan; Kevin De Bruyne & Julian Alvarez. Things would never be the same.

But in true Pep fashion; it seems things are now becoming like the same. In came new recruits such as Omar Marmoush; the wily Rayan Cherki; the non-English speaking Abdukodir Khusanov and the former Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri. But perhaps the thing that gets me most excited is the influx of new academy players now getting a chance in the team: the likes of Rico Lewis; Oscar Bobb; the talented Nico O'Reilly, Divine Mukasa and the fresh-faced Charlie Gray. Together; they are forming the 'new wave' at Man City that threatens to match the expectations of the previous era.

And it is with this backdrop hat they eased to a 2-0 win over Brentford in the EFL Cup Quarter-Final for their 6th consecutive victory in all competitions. It was the new boys that did the damage; Cherki with his lesser right foot; and Brazilian youngster Savinho; who got a huge deflection via Kristoffer Ajer. In contrast; Brentford are not the same this season. It seems a part of them died when charismatic manager Thomas Frank left for Tottenham. Their rather lethargic displays are perhaps a reflection of their new boss Keith Andrews. Symbolic of that is Matias Jensen; previously an energetic midfielder; now relegated to insipid displays and he was hauled off in this one was well.