Nathan Ake hailed his Manchester City teammates after they ran out 3-2 winners in their Carabao Cup clash against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool on Thursday night.
The game got off to a rapid start, with Erling Haaland reminding us that he is still on course to becoming a Premier League GOAT as he fired City into a 1-0 lead with a close-range finish.
Liverpool found a way to draw level 10 minutes later after Fabio Carvalho calmly finished off a low cross that went past goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
Two minutes into the second half, Riyad Mahrez restored City's lead as he lashed home but the hosts didn't enjoy the lead more than a minute then Mohamed Salah made it 2-2
However, City had the last laugh in the 68th minute when Nathan Ake nodded in a superb looping cross from midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.
Top, top ball from Kevin De Bruyne
After the win at the Etihad, winning goalscorer Ake told BBC Radio 5 Live: "The last week has been a bit strange, people coming back at different times then straight into having to play an intense game against Liverpool and it's not easy.
"They have top-quality players, we should've done better with the goals but we managed to score more than them. There are things to improve but for the first game back it was good. It was another top, top ball from Kevin [De Bruyne] and I had to score that one.
"You've been away for a month and the national team is different, then suddenly you are straight back in it. Strange but good, as a player you want to be involved in major tournaments like that."
'We back with a very good mentality'
Manchester City goalscorer Riyad Mahrez told Sky Sports: "It's always good to score and to help the team win. Overall we were very good today and deserved to win.
"Everyone came back with a very good mentality and ready to start again. It was a tough opponent to start with."
When asked who City might get in the next round, the Algeria international said: "We've beaten Chelsea and Liverpool [in the Carabao Cup already] so we'll see. But we'll take it game by game and concentrate on the next Premier League game, which is the most important one for us at the moment."
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