SUNDERLAND 1, MANCHESTER CITY 4 (Capital One Cup 3rd Round)
- First half goals for Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Vito Mannone own goal and Raheem Sterling
- City Debuts for Patrick Roberts, Manuel Garcia, and George Evans
- Consolation goal for Sunderland’s Ola Toivonen
City had this Capital One Cup tie won at half time, with early goals by Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, a Vito Mannone own goal, and Raheem Sterling, giving them time to hand three debuts to Elite Development Squad players.
Blues boss Manuel Pellegrini has taken the Capital One Cup seriously in the past and once again treated the competition with respect by making only three changes from the side that was surprisingly beaten by West Ham at the weekend.
Willy Cabellero, Martin Demichelis, and Fernando came in for Joe Hart, Eliaquim Mangala, and Fernandinho. David Silva and Mangala were not risked after injuries sustained on the match day.
With youth development also on the agenda, even if not on the pitch, the City bench at the Stadium of Light was loaded with Elite Development Squad players although Kelechi Iheanacho was given the night off.
It was easy to see that a strong City team were making the most of the in-form Kevin De Bruyne pulling the strings in a midfield generally unfettered by interference from Sunderland players and the Black Cats’ defence proved to be no match for the firepower on show from their visitors.
City took the lead through a ninth minute Sergio Aguero penalty after Jesus Navas had been brought down inside the Sunderland box following a tackle by Patrick Van Aanholt.
Aguero had only scored one goal this season before tonight, against Chelsea, and his chipped penalty down the middle beat Vito Mannone to double his tally for the season.
The game might have changed for luckless Sunderland had they levelled matters quickly in the first half and they certainly tried to get back into the game after the early setback.
Fabio Borini thought he had equalised after 16 minutes after running onto a long ball but was harshly penalised for a foul on Otamendi before he finished past Caballero in the City goal.
Sunderland continued to rally and tested City’s defence with chances by Borini, John O’Shea, and Jeremie Lens.
Their best chance to equalise in the first half was through Ola Toivonen’s header which was laid on by DeAndre Yedlin, who had the beating of Aleksandar Kolarov for pace.
The American right back produced a tasty cross for the Swede who might have beaten Cabellero with a better directed finish.
City took the warning to heart and scored their second of the night after 25 minutes on the counter attack after Aguero found Kevin De Bruyne who exchanged passes with Raheem Sterling before neatly slotting past Mannone at the near post for his second goal in two City starts.
The luckless Mannone’s own goal ended the contest after 33 minutes with a bizarre own goal that killed off Sunderland’s resolve.
Bacary Sagna’s pass led to a Sterling shot which came back off the post but went in off Mannone’s head to silence fans within the Stadium of Light.
Sterling got the goal he wanted, though, and the City winger bagged an easy one after De Bruyne dropped deep, found his team mate with a killer through ball, and watched him curl it right footed past Mannone with just 36 minutes on the clock.
Cue the exodus for some Sunderland fans although those left behind could have seen the Black Cats 5-0 down before the break but Aguero was trying to be too clever before being denied by a combination of O’Shea and Sebastian Coates.
With the game won, City took the foot off the gas in the second half.
The chances kept coming for City with opportunities for Navas, Yaya Toure, and Sterling but there was more interest in debuts for summer signing Patrick Roberts in the 55th minute while 17-year old Manuel Garcia came on in the 74th minute and finally Manchester-born George Evans also received his City debut with two minutes to go.
The remaining Sunderland fans finally had something to cheer when Yedlin got his reward for a night of hard work as he provided a great cross for Toivonen to convert with a header from six yards out past an advancing Caballero with seven minutes to go as City’s defence fell asleep.