Substance beats style as Man City handed cruel lesson to crash out of EFL Trophy

Manchester City lost a battle of completely-contrasting styles to crash out of the EFL Trophy at Bradford City on Tuesday.

Needing a win to keep up their chances of reaching the knockout stages alive, City approached the game at their League Two opponents with their usual brand of possession-based football that has defined the academy's recent success in age-group football. They would dominate the ball as expected, but the experience and direct tactics of Bradford would earn them a place in the next round instead.

A first-half hat-trick from the Bantams' Tyler Smith gave City too much to do - the second goal particularly frustrating as it squeezed through City goalkeeper George Murray-Jones.

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City exited the EFL Trophy at the group stage for the third season running, although this year has its caveats as many of the previous season's squad were sold over the summer. The Class of 2024 are a much younger group, and exit the trophy with only a penalty shoot-out win at Grimsby to their name.

This was a harsh lesson from a League Two side scrapping for form after parting ways with former City boss Mark Hughes, and the build-up to this one saw Bradford announce they were changing caretaker managers. In constant drizzle at Valley Parade, City were given a cruel taste of senior football.

Despite having all of the ball, the young Blues struggled to create any chances of note - at least until it was too late. Bradford, on the other hand, had little of the ball, but were far more ruthless with it when they did get it off City.

Al