Manchester City escaped a nervy finale to book their place in the Carabao Cup fourth round with a 2-1 victory over Watford.
First-half goals from Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes were enough to see Pep Guardiola’s side through at the Eithad.
A late curling effort from Tom Ince gave Watford hope in the final minutes, but City managed to hold on.
In a match that kicked off just 49 hours after City’s pulsating 2-2 draw with Arsenal, Kyle Walker and Doku were the only two players to start again against Watford.
The hosts immediately dominated possession with Doku opening the scoring after just five minutes when the Hornets inexplicably lost the ball in their own box.
James McAtee played it to Jack Grealish who promptly found Doku, who set himself before rolling the ball into the back of the net.
City doubled their advantage when Rico Lewis and Nunes linked up neatly in midfield, with Nunes firing home a great effort.
Lewis must have thought the Portuguese midfielder wasn’t celebrating enough as he tried to make him smile with his hands.
City boss Guardiola will welcome back star striker Erling Haaland at the weekend, but his side managed tonight without a recognised striker.
Grealish and Foden were at the centre of most of what the hosts put together, with Nunes marshalling the midfield well alongside youngsters McAtee and Nico O’Reilly.
City pushed throughout the second half but couldn’t quite find a third, while Watford had a few chances but were let down by their finishing until Ince’s late strike.
They made it a tense final minutes but couldn’t score to level the game and force extra-time.
Guardiola’s side will now prepare for a Premier League trip to Newcastle on Saturday.
