If Pep Guardiola was hoping to ease the sense that Manchester City are too reliant on Erling Haaland, then their trip to Swansea in his absence offered little in the way of reassurance.
That they progressed to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals rendered the details meaningless, but it was too much of a slog to view this win as much beyond the accomplishment of small objectives.
For make no mistake, Guardiola invited embarrassment by making 10 changes to the team most recently used in the Premier League and might have suffered one had the inertia of City’s first half here persisted into the second.
If it had done so, then City may have blundered to the same fate as Nottingham Forest, who were beaten by Swansea in the previous round.
Instead, they found extra gears and a last-eight clash at home to Brentford, secured predominantly through the work of Nico Gonzalez in midfield and late goals from Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki.
But it was a scare and at this point, we should discuss Swansea. Placed 13th in the Championship and fending off local grumbles about lost identities, Alan Sheehan’s side were superb until they ran out of steam.
Rayan Cherki celebrates sealing victory for Manchester City against Swansea on Wednesday
Omar Marmoush (right) gave a much-changed City the lead away at the Championship side
Jeremy Doku celebrates levelling for City after they had fallen behind early in south Wales
The chronology of how that played out was momentarily dramatic – they led early through a Goncalo Franco screamer, missed a great chance for 2-0 after the umpteenth careless pass from City’s defence, and then gradually succumbed to gravity once Jeremy Doku levelled late in the half.
Guardiola declared himself pleased with what he saw, especially after the break, but presumably he only saw glimpses of the first 45 minutes through his fingers.
His most legitimate praise was directed to Gonzalez, whose play with and without the ball was key to regain control of this tie. When Rodri is missing, that value only increases.
‘Nico helped us a lot,’ Guardiola said. ‘He moves much better in the right positions, he’s much cleverer where the space is free. He’s so young, he’s a lovely guy. I’m really pleased because these type of football players are incredibly coachable. They deserve the best.’
There was also a nod to Marmoush, who was among a cohort making their first start after lengthy injuries. His finish for 2-1 was excellent and added the Egyptian to the thin list of City players not named Haaland to score this season.
‘I’m happy for him more because a striker needs goals and for his confidence it will be important,’ Guardiola said. ‘Having him back is so nice.’
While Guardiola was upbeat, any internal satisfaction might be balanced by questions about the complacency of making 10 changes to the side that beat Villa.
Only Oscar Bobb was retained, so clearly this was designated a task for the second and third strings or men feeling their way towards full fitness.
In the case of the latter, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Rayan Cherki all began a game for the first time since the September international break. Neither Ait-Nouri nor Khusanov fared especially well.
Ait-Nouri’s bleakest point came in the creation of the first goal when he was easily beaten on the fly by Josh Key, and that blemish rolled into the combined carelessness of Cherki and Bobb, who each had Franco in clear view and neither tracked his run.
Rayan Ait-Nouri battles with the ball alongside Swansea goalscorer Goncalo Franco
Pep Guardiola invited embarrassment by making 10 changes to his Manchester City side
Franco’s finish from the edge of the City area was sublime, but Guardiola will seethe at the footage – as with Matty Cash’s winner for Villa at the weekend, when Bernardo Silva was so slow to close him down, it reeked of an unforced error.
The greater irritation here will come from knowing Franco’s goal was not a blip in isolation on the night. Credit to Swansea on that front – they chased, squeezed, pressed and repeatedly killed the lines to Marmoush.
In Ethan Galbraith, once of Manchester United’s academy and more recently Leyton Orient, they also had the best player of the first half.
But City also made it easy for them. Look no further than a golden chance for 2-0 when Khusanov, under limited pressure, rolled directly into the path of Melker Widell.
Only James Trafford’s fingertips kept the drama from becoming a crisis, but it was also a turning point.
First, Cherki hit the post on 37 minutes and then Doku got the leveller after an excellent solo run and strike was helped by a large deflection off Cameron Burgess.
After the break, a five-pass, four-man blitz on the fringe of Swansea’s box teed up Marmoush for a superb drive inside Andy Fisher’s near post. Cherki made it 3-1 in stoppage time with a low roller.
