TheCable

Manchester City, English Premier League (EPL) champions, were on Wednesday night knocked out of the Carabao Cup following a shock 2-0 loss to Southampton.

Southampton, relegation-threatened at the basement of the EPL table, scored two first-half goals through Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.

A much-changed City lineup without the likes of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne went behind on 23 minutes to Mara’s Well taken first time shot that nestled low into the near post before Djenepo expertly caught out City’s stand-in goalkeeper with a looped shot five minutes later to seal a surprise win.

Man City, who won the Carabao Cup in four successive seasons — from 2018 to 2021 — could not salvage the tie despite the entry of their stars in the second period.

Taiwo Awoniyi’s Nottingham Forest joined Southampton in the last four following a 4-3 win on penalties over Wolverhampton Wanderers after a 1-1 draw.

Awoniyi did not make the squad while Emmanuel Dennis, his Super Eagles compatriot, was a second-half substitute.

Nottingham Forest will face Manchester United in the semi-finals while Southampton will square off with Newcastle United.