Irresistible Manchester City scored nine goals as they thrashed Burton Albion with an incredible display of attacking football in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final at Etihad Stadium.
Gabriel Jesus scored four, with Kevin de Bruyne, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez also scoring against Nigel Clough’s beleaguered League One side.
Headers from De Bruyne and Jesus made it 2-0, the Brazilian tapped in a third and Zinchenko’s curler put City four up.
Jesus added two more headers, with Foden, Walker and Mahrez scoring further goals.
This was the first time in more than 31 years that City had scored more than eight goals in a single match – they beat Huddersfield Town 10-1 in a second-tier league encounter in November 1987.
It means City have scored 16 goals in four days after thrashing Rotherham United 7-0 in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday.
The second leg, merely a formality, takes place at the Pirelli Stadium on Wednesday, 23 January, with the final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, 24 February.
City, the Carabao Cup holders, are set to meet either Tottenham or Chelsea in the final, with Spurs leading 1-0 after Harry Kane’s penalty gave them a first-leg victory at Wembley on Tuesday.
Source: Wires