A Leroy Sane double fired Manchester City into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup but Pep Guardiola’s men made heavy weather of seeing off West Brom.
City led their hosts a merry dance for much of the evening but looked destined for extra time when Claudio Yacob cancelled out Sane’s early opener.
However, the visitors’ dominance was rewarded on 77 minutes when Sane bagged a superb winner.
Guardiola will hope progress did not come at a cost after Ilkay Gundogan limped off 59 minutes into his latest comeback game.
It was the German’s first start since injuring a cruciate knee ligament nine months ago, although his injury appeared to be to his other leg.
City took less than two and a half minutes to open the scoring with Raheem Sterling the creator.
Here are the Man City players ratings vs West Brom:
Claudio Bravo – 7/10
There was fear every time the ball went to him but he disposed of that with a calm and competent performance. Served as a decent sweeper as well.
Danilo – 7/10
Enjoyed moving up and down the flank in the first half and dealt well with the pressure piled by Nyom and Phillips in the second half.
John Stones – 7/10
Continued his good start to the campaign with yet another steady showing. Barely placed a foot wrong.
Eliaquim Mangala- 7.5/10
Unlucky not to get on the score sheet. Looked composed and strong on the ball. Pep must be happy with his 4th choice centre-back’s performance.
Fabian Delph – 6.5/10
Deployed as a left-back and did okay on the attack but looked uncomfortable when West Brom started to turn on the heat. Looked better after Gundogan was taken off as he could slot into his favoured midfield role.
Yaya Toure – 6.5/10
Lethargic showing from the big Ivorian on his 300th City appearance. Looked good alongside Gundogan but struggled to cope with West Brom’s attacks.
Ilkay Gundogan – 7/10
Was doing an incredible job on his return to the side after 9 months out but it was cut short after he was cynically challenged by Claudio Yacob. Unlucky really.
Bernardo Silva – 7.5/10
Showed why he is the natural heir to David Silva’s position in the side with a sparkling performance. Was involved in everything good for City.
Raheem Sterling – 7.5/10
Continued on his fine start to the campaign by setting up Sane’s first within 3 minutes into the game. Looked decent throughout and did well defensively to support Delph as well.
Leroy Sane – 8.5/10
Magnificent performance from the German as he scored his second brace of the season. The pressure on Guardiola to start him is higher than ever before now.
Gabriel Jesus – 7/10
The youngster tried hard to hold his own against a rugged Baggies defence. Should have scored with a superb turn.
Substitute:
Kyle Walker – 7/10
Helped shore up the defence after Gundogan had to be taken off and dealt well with James McClean.
Fernandinho – N/A
Came on late to help City see out the game.
