Carabao Cup: West Brom 1 Man City 2 - Report and pictures

The Baggies were outplayed for the majority of the game, and fell behind in this Carabao Cup third round encounter as early as the third minute thanks to Leroy Sane's opener.

It looked like that goal might break the dam, but thanks to some heroics in goal from Ben Foster, City failed to make their dominance count after that and slowly but surely the hosts fought their way back into the game.

In the 72nd minute they equalised through to a rare Claudio Yacob goal from a corner.

Five minutes of intense pressure followed, when Albion could have, and probably should have, taken the lead, but that chaotic spell was ended by Sane's delicious second on the counter-attack.

That proved enough to knock Tony Pulis's team out of the cup although he will be ruing a glorious chance for Hal Robson-Kanu in injury time that the forward somehow missed..

Pulis attempted to match Guardiola's wing-back system by bringing Gareth McAuley into the side as a third centre-back for his first start of the season following his return from a thigh injury.

Yacob came in for Gareth Barry in defensive midfield, Allan Nyom was put at right wing-back, and Hal Robson-Kanu was started up front alongside Jay Rodriguez.

But Guardiola caught Albion on the hop by playing four in defence with Fabian Delph as a makeshift left-back, and it took the visitors in maroon less than three minutes to take the lead.

Ilkay Gundogan arrived late in the box to latch onto Sterling's cross from Albion's left flank, and even though Ben Foster palmed away his fierce shot, it went straight to Sane, who smashed it home emphatically from eight yards.

It was an early blow from a City team intent on flooding forward, but the Baggies responded well, and in the tenth minute, Robson-Kanu had the ball in the net after Grzegorz Krychowiak's determined hassling disposessed Gundogan in his own box.

However, referee Mike Jones decided the hassling was illegal, and the equaliser was chalked off.

Albion were pressing high in packs, trying to win the ball off City's defence or cut out the short ball and force Claudio Bravo to kick it long to their centre-backs, who had the aerial advantage.

But that was leaving gaps in behind, and when City did break through that first press, they sped away at pace.

And it meant the impressive Foster had to be on his toes. Albion's keeper was forced to palm away an Eliaquim Mangala header at short range, and then rushed out to deny Sane a second after he was slipped in by Delph.

Just before that, the Baggies were given a huge let-off when Gabriel Jesus - who had the beating of McAuley all game - fired over from ten yards after turning the Northern Irishman in the box expertly.

Albion weren't playing poorly, but City started to strengthen their grip on the game and push their hosts back.

Thirty minutes in Yacob had to chase back and get a toe in to stop Gundogan adding a second.

The Baggies did well to create a rare chance for Rodriguez soon after, and it was greeted with cheers that - on another night against different opposition - would have been ironic.

Delph was then booked for scything down Nyom after the wing-back followed up a nutmeg with a couple of stepovers, but the most eye-catching moment of the half came right at the end when Foster somehow clawed away Sterling's curling effort destined for the top corner.

The Baggies fashioned the first chance of the second half when Dawson's cross to the near post was guided across goal by Rodriguez but his header bounced wide of the post.

But on the whole, Albion's best play was coming when Gibbs or Krychowiak were on the ball, as the summer signings continued to impress.

Gundogan, who has only just returned from a long-lay off, was then replaced with Kyle Walker after picking up an ankle injury from a Claudio Yacob challenge on the edge of the box that earned the Argentinian a yellow card.

Foster was brought into action again on the hour mark, when he stretched out a boot to deny Sterling, before Pulis brought Matt Phillips on for McAuley and put as right wing-back before moving Nyom inside.

And Phillips almost immediately help create Albion's best chance of the game, linking up well with Robson-Kanu on the edge of the area, who then timed his little ball to Morrison perfectly.

The midfielder to burst through John Stones and Yaya Toure but his toepoked effort span just wide of the far post.

That injected some belief into the crowd and then 20 minutes from time, Albion equalised.

Gibbs whipped in a corner from the right hand side and thanks to some disjointed defending from City, the Baggies were queuing up to tuck it home.

It was Yacob who kept his composure and sidefooted it home from five yards out, and that sparked a period of Albion pressure.

The Baggies should have taken the lead when Phillips burned past two defenders on the byline and cut the ball back to Robson-Kanu, but the striker's shot from ten yards out went wide when he should have done better.

It had been one-way traffic for most of the game but soon after, Morrison latched on to a ball over the top and forced Bravo into a full-stretch save with a stabbed effort goalwards.

But just as Albion were beginning to turn the screw, City struck with a goal of clinical brilliance on the counter, and it was Sane again.

Found by Silva, the German stood Dawson up before cutting inside and curling a gorgeous goal into the top right corner to restore City's lead against the run of play.

The Baggies regrouped and went close with a Salomon Rondon header soon after before Morrison had a shot blocked in the box.

But the biggest and best chance fell to Robson-Kanu in injury time when James McClean's shot bounced through to him in the box.

He was all alone, eight yards out, with just Bravo to beat, but his shot skimmed the outside of the post, and that was when Albion knew, it wasn't going to be their night.

Key Moments

3 GOAL CITY - Gundogan arrives in the box and Foster palms his shot away but Sane is on hand to smash in the rebound.

10 Albion have the ball in the net but Mike Jones decideds Krychowiak fouled Gundogan.

72 GOAL ALBION - Gibbs's corner is swept home by Yacob to the delight of the home crowd

77 GOAL CITY - City break away at pace and Sane curls a gorgeous shot into the top corner

93 - Robson-Kanu is all alone in the box but his shot skims the outside of the post.

Teams

Albion (5-3-2): Foster; Nyom, Dawson, Evans (c), McAuley (Phillips 62), Gibbs; Krychowiak, Yacob (McClean 80), Morrison; Rodriguez (Rondon 67), Robson-Kanu. Subs: Myhill, Hegazi, Field, Barry.

Manchester City (4-3-3): Bravo; Danilo, Stones, Mangala, Delph; Toure (c), Gundogan (Walker 58), B Silva; Sterling, Jesus, Sane (Fernandinho 79). Subs: Ederson, Adarabioyo, Zinchenko, Foden, Diaz.

Attendance: 14,953 (3,506 away)

Referee: Mike Jones