Preston 0-3 Manchester City: Holders ease through to fourth round
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Raheem Sterling has scored in seven of his 10 appearances so far this season, taking his tally to nine in 2019-20 with the opening goal against Preston
Holders Manchester City eased into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a comfortable win at Preston.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring with a fine solo goal and then set up Gabriel Jesus to blast in a second.
The game was effectively decided by half-time as Ryan Ledson turned David Silva's cross into his own net.
Preston's Josh Harrop and City's Phil Foden hit the woodwork in the second half as a comeback never really looked on the cards.
Clinical City get the job done
Nobody could ever accuse Pep Guardiola of not taking cup competitions seriously and last year's domestic treble winners are looking to become only the second team to win three consecutive League Cups.
They named a strong attacking line-up - with Sterling, Bernardo and David Silva and Jesus all in the team.
The back four had a different feel with summer signings Angelino and Joao Cancelo at full-back and youngsters Eric Garcia and Taylor Harwood-Bellis in the centre.
All four played well against a Preston team who were unbeaten in six games and only one point off top in the Championship, with Angelino having a promising game at left-back.
Garcia, a real candidate to start for City in the league following injuries to Aymeric Laporte and John Stones, was solid - although will face tougher tests in the Premier League.
City were scintillating at times, without really needing to be at their best. And they took their chances when they came, with Sterling - who was rested in Saturday's 8-0 win over Watford - running at the defence before opening the scoring and then finding Jesus for the second.
Jesus had already had a goal disallowed at that stage and when Ledson turned Silva's cross into his own net, the game was over as a competition.
Both sides had a go in the second half but the result was long decided.
Preston manager Alex Neil: "Man City were the better team. They treat the Carabao Cup the same way as the Champions League. That's why they're champions. For the first 20 minutes, we started brightly on the front foot and went chasing the ball for the first goal. The goals they scored were stuff we talked about.
"But when you play against that quality with their speed, it's one thing to talk about stopping them. It's another thing to do it. We can't get too hard on ourselves. We did OK to stick to our task in the second half. We had five regular starters not in the team. All in all, I was happy but frustrated with the goals."
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola: "[I am] Very pleased because they are third in the Championship. We took it seriously as always. You can't do what we've done in previous seasons if you don't take every game seriously. I grew up in the Barcelona academy, they taught me you have to win every single game or at least try.
"They [the two centre-backs] did really well. Taylor [Harwood-Bellis] and Eric [Garcia] combined perfectly. They played with each other for a long time in the academy. They have incredible personalities. It wasn't easy with long balls and second balls but we can count on them."
On Raheem Sterling: "He was 19 or 20 when he came here. In two or three years he will be a better player than now. I know his work ethic. He didn't play last game, but he came here with incredible humility and played at an incredible level. Even David Silva, won absolutely everything, came here in the Carabao Cup and played as captain, played in a difficult position like holding midfield.
"That's why when we lost to Norwich everyone is saying disaster. What are you talking about? These guys deserve incredible respect."