Manchester City booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a 3-2 win over Liverpool last night.
Star striker Erling Haaland handed Manchester City an early lead, but the home side were pegged back almost immediately.
Liverpool got back into the contest through Fabio Carvalho and the two sides were level at halftime.
Manchester City took lead once again in the second half, but Mohamed Salah levelled things up for the visitors. However, a goal from Nathan Ake proved to be the winner in the second half.
While speaking to the media during the post-match presser, manager Pep Guardiola heaped praise on Haaland for his performance against Liverpool.
The Manchester City manager revealed that Haaland was exhausted against Liverpool because of the lack of game-time over the last few weeks, but he did well against the likes of Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.
Guardiola went on to lavish praise on the Liverpool defenders, who were strong and fast against Manchester City on the night.
He said to the club’s official website: “(Haaland) scored a great goal today, helped us a lot, fought against Matip and Gomez, who are so strong and fast as well, so that’s why it is a next step. A good 75 minutes, he was exhausted.”
Liverpool were without their usual defensive pairing of Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk because of their participation in the World Cup. The two players have been given some time off and they are expected to return to action soon.