What a difference a week makes for Nathan Jones. Seven days after the Southampton manager left the pitch with boos ringing his ears after losing the bottom-of-the-Premier-League clash against Nottingham Forest, an inspired performance capped by goals from Sékou Mara and Moussa Djenepo, who scored with a spectacular chip, knocked the wind out of Manchester City’s sails on a blustery night on the south coast.
For Pep Guardiola, who was aiming to become the first manager to win the League Cup five times and move ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough, it was a night to forget as Kalvin Phillips made his first start for a City side that never really looked like finding a way back into this game after falling behind. This time Jones, having now won three times in cup competitions despite having failed to pick up a point from his four league matches, was afforded a standing ovation from the delighted home supporters at the full-time whistle. Newcastle await in the semi-finals.
