Carabao Cup 2017/18 - Leicester City 1-1(3-4) Manchester City: 5 Talking Points
Missed penalties from Leicester City substitutes Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez sent a scratch Manchester City side through to the Carabao Cup semifinals after a shootout at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night.
Pep Guardiola rang the changes for the record-breaking Premier League leaders, bringing in a number of teenagers. Everything seemed to be going well with a 1-0 lead courtesy of Bernardo Silva’s first-half goal, but a stoppage-time penalty from Vardy pegged them back. The Citizens eventually made it through in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Here are 5 talking points from a topsy-turvy night:
#5 The referee had a poor game
It was not the first time Bobby Madley has been shrouded in controversy, but he cost Manchester City a win in normal time by awarding Leicester an extremely soft penalty. Kyle Walker, who came on for the visitors, was adjudged to have fouled Damarai Gray, another substitute, in the 97th of eight second-half stoppage time minutes.
There was very little in it, if anything, and it almost undid a night’s work for City.
But Madley had got a number of other decisions wrong, big and small. Leicester could have had a penalty in extra time, with more of a reason to give it than the one they got on first viewing, but he waved it away.
Walker was later booked for diving, a good move by Madley. Booking Kelechi Iheanacho for a first-half foul on Claudio Bravo when he barely caught the goalkeeper when chasing Danilo’s short backpass showed he wasn’t always on his mark.