Pep Guardiola, Lee Grant and the tactical area both men highlighted in Huddersfield's Town's Carabao Cup tie with Manchester City
Against former Premier League champions and multiple-times winners of the Carabao Cup – who had Phil Foden pivoting right and left and directing traffic from inside their own half – Huddersfield Town were never going to be a match for Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Foden, looking somewhere close to his best, scored a first-half goal from the edge of the area and laid on the second for Savinho as City made serene progress to the fourth round at an Accu Stadium that was “bursting at the seams” said a proud Town boss Lee Grant.
But there was one area both Grant and his illustrious opposite number Pep Guardiola knew there could be a leveller - set-pieces.
Guardiola even revealed he had prepared for it, using a decades-worth of experience in bringing his vaunted playmakers to lower-league teams in cup competitions.
“Against these teams in this competition, set-pieces is always a danger,” said the Spaniard, who had John Stones at centre back and gave Kalvin Phillips his first game in a Manchester City shirt in 21 months.
“We conceded fewer set-pieces and corners than we did at Arsenal and that was a consequence of the way we played.”
Grant responded: “It’s really difficult to win set-pieces against Man City to start with, but we talked about it and the importance of it.
“That’s both directions because you know the quality you’re up against in terms of delivery and pace and power they have to go and attack stuff.
“Even from a goal-kick, Lee Nicholls puts it high and hard into their half, we get a knock down and Zepe lands on it and we get a half moment from that.
“It doesn’t feel like a huge moment but against Manchester City you have to take what you can get.
“We are where we are in our curve, it could be a set-piece, or a direct kick from our goalkeeper and we’d have loved to have generated more of those moments, but it’s really not easy up against such a well-disciplined side.
“To come away with a 2-0 defeat is not to be under-estimated, so I’m really proud of the collective.”