Despite Neil Warnock’s pre-match comments that he wanted to "entertain as much as possible without being humiliated", the home side did not offer much attacking intent in the first-half except a promising period around the 20 minute mark.
By that point, Pep Guardiola’s side were already 1-0 up thanks to a cute free-kick from De Bruyne in the 8th minute after Ilkay Gundogan was brought down by Joe Ralls just outside the 18-yard box. The Belgian kept the shot low which bounced under the Cardiff defence to trickle into the back of the net.
It isn’t the first time that the 26-year-old has scored in this style, netting one against Bournemouth in the Premier League last season.
However, the home side did almost equalise from nothing 10 minutes later after Junior Holliet decided to have a pop at goal. It was well-struck and caused Claudio Bravo issues with the Chilean No. 1 spilling the ball which then almost crossed the line in what would have been a howling mistake for the stand-in keeper.
The fixture would then be hit with a bit of controversy after Bernardo Silva’s goal in the 25th minute was ruled offside by the officials, with no VAR available in the match. The decision went against Man City as Leroy Sane was judged to be impeding Neil Etheridge in an offside position. Replays showed that the Cardiff goalkeeper had no chance of saving Silva’s effort but with no video assistant system in place, the referee’s decision stood.
It followed VAR controversy in the Liverpool-West Brom game on Saturday when the system was used to change two decisions, both against Alan Pardew’s side, as it appears to be undergoing some teething problems.
City bounced back well from the disappointment to score their second in the 37th minute as Sterling headed home a fast cross from Bernardo which rightfully saw no complaints from the officials. It was the England international’s first goal from a header since Boxing Day in 2015.
- Physical encounter -
The first-half did end on a sour note as Joe Bennett’s late challenge on Sane should have warranted a red card with the German taken off during the break, hopefully as a precaution. Bennett was trying to stop a blistering counter attack by the visitors but was very late and could have caused serious damage to the 22-year-old.
Physicality would become a theme in the second-half which saw tensions rise between the two sides as Cardiff desperately sought to get back into the game. Ecuele Manga was booked for a late follow through on Sergio Aguero, who replaced Sane at half-time, whilst Fernandinho returned the favour on Liverpool loanee Marko Grujic, both rightfully earning bookings.
It would culminate in a second yellow for Bennett in the dying moments of the match after the Cardiff player caught substitute Brahim Diaz with another poor challenge. It was a just ending for his awful tackle on Sane in the first-half.
Warnock will be disappointed with his team's performance as they couldn't put together a good enough chance to start a come-back despite some strong pressure in the second-half. The best chance falling to Hoilett again as the 27-year-old fired another long-range effort at Bravo, who was worried following his poor handling of the first attempt, but it went inches over the crossbar.
Guardiola on the other hand will be happy that his time have negotiated the tie comfortably, especially after seeing Premier League rivals Tottenham struggle against Newport County on Saturday, although he will not be impressed if any of his players have picked up injuries with their Champions League Round of 16 clash against FC Basel fast-approaching.