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Jeremy Doku and Omar Marmoush were among the goals as Manchester City beat Swansea City in the Carabao Cup
For large parts of Wednesday night's Carabao Cup tie in Wales, Manchester City seemed to lean into the narrative that without Erling Haaland they're a blunt attack.
The Blues struggled to create clear-cut chances against Swansea with their equaliser against the Championship club owing a fair amount to good fortune given the hefty deflection that took Jeremy Doku's effort into the goal.
Haaland will have watched on from afar having not travelled as Pep Guardiola gave a few of his most-worked players so far this season the night off.
Haaland has 11 of City's 17 Premier League goals this term. The only other player to find the net more than once in the top-flight for the Blues doesn't even play for the club.
Maxime Esteve, who put through his own net twice at the Etihad when Burnley were beaten 5-1 in September, is probably as keen as anyone to see someone else grasp the goalscoring mantle for City given his name keeps cropping up amid the statistical scoring quirk.
Perhaps Wednesday night might finally be the catalyst for two City players to help carry the goalscoring burden. Doku netted the first while Omar Marmoush - on his first start since an injury sustained playing for Egypt in early September - rifled in a second.
On paper the pair have a crucial part to play in this City attack with Doku beginning to turn his potential into consistent performances and Marmoush having showcased his goalscoring ability during his first few months in Manchester last term.
Guardiola had spoken about the pair in the lead-up to the Swansea tie with the City chief keen to see those not named Haaland take some goalscoring responsibility.
"In the dribbles, nobody is better than Doku. But in goals, Omar is better than Doku. To score goals we need Doku and to score goals we also need Omar. And both of them have to defend," said Guardiola.
So the City boss will have been pleased to see both on target in midweek. The prospect of pushing Marmoush alongside Haaland is also very much in the manager's thoughts, with Doku key to that potential strategy.
“The numbers of Erling are so important, it’s impressive,” Guardiola said. “He scored many of the goals we scored, but we need goals. Omar is important, he’s back.”
“Omar and Erling can play together,” Guardiola added. “We need a proper winger in the side, so there are players that can (do that) better, but we need the players close to Erling, the gaps between full-backs and central defenders, and we need intensity.
“Omar is the best if we need the players close to the box. Omar is the best that we have alongside there, but we need more players in the pockets, more in smaller spaces, more control than the other one (and) there are other ones that are better. So it depends on what we need in the team.”
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