Diaz Stars, De Bruyne Hurt in Man City's Carabao Cup Win Over Fulham
MANCHESTER, England (AP) – With most of Manchester City's stars given the night off, one of its brightest young talents took his opportunity to impress in its 2-0 win over Fulham in the round of 16 in the English League Cup on Thursday.
Brahim Diaz, a 19-year-old Spanish forward, scored a goal in each half at Etihad Stadium to move City closer to successfully defending the trophy.
City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne appeared to injure his left knee after Fulham defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah landed on the midfielder as they competed for the ball. De Bruyne only recently returned after missing several games with ligament damage in his right knee.
City will play either Leicester or Southampton in the quarterfinals. Their game was postponed this week following the death of Leicester's owner and four other people in a helicopter crash on Saturday.
Diaz was given a standing ovation when he was substituted in the 78th minute after making only his second competitive start of the season.
His first goal was fortunate, with his shot taking a deflection off Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic and flying past flat-footed goalkeeper Sergio Rico.
Diaz, signed from Malaga in 2016, doubled the lead in the 65th when he slotted a shot high into the net from close range after Gabriel Jesus' shot came back off the post.
With the contest squeezed in between two Premier League games in a six-day span, City manager Pep Guardiola took the opportunity to play many of his fringe players. Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero were among those who didn't make it off the bench.
