League Cup: City cull Hull, in semis

London: In-form Kevin De Bruyne struck twice as Premier League leaders Manchester City overpowered Hull City 4-1 on Tuesday to lead three top-flight teams into the League Cup semifinals.

 

De Bruyne had scored one goal and made two in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Southampton and he continued in the same vein as the 2014 winners saw off second-tier Hull, with Wilfried Bony and Kelechi Iheanacho also scoring.

 

 

“We only had 72 hours to recover (from the game against Southampton) so it was a very good answer from all the squad,” said City manager Manuel Pellegrini. “The most important thing is to be involved in all the competitions at this stage. We were very solid and we didn’t allow chances for Hull to score.” City made five changes for the visit of Hull, currently fourth in the Championship, with David Silva captaining the side at the Etihad Stadium on his first start following time out with an ankle injury.

 

Sergio Aguero was absent, having taken a knock in the win over Southampton, but Bony ensured that he was not missed by following in to open the scoring in the 12th minute after De Bruyne had hit the post.

 

Iheanacho replaced Bony in the 71st minute and scored nine minutes later, toeing in a cross from Raheem Sterling. De Bruyne’s brace arrived late on, the Belgium forward exploiting a defensive mistake to prod home in the 82nd minute and then sweeping a free-kick into the corner three minutes from time. Andrew Robertson tucked away an injury-time consolation for Hull.