Manchester City failed to register a single shot on target on Wednesday night as Nathan Jones guided his Southampton side to a season-changing victory in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

Although sights from pundits were already set on The Saints settling for a good performance rather than an outcome, they gave themselves a fighting chance to achieve a win after Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo scored in the first half.

Despite Pep Guardiola bringing on Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland in the second period, the Southampton team ran themselves into the ground to hold on to their two-goal cushion.

For the Spanish manager, it was the first time he had ever lost a domestic quarter-final - and for the home side, it could prove critical to the rest of their season as they straddle at rock bottom of the Premier League. 

Both teams face important league fixtures at the weekend as Southampton go up against Everton in a relegation six-pointer, and the Citizens look to stay in proximity to league-leaders Arsenal during their trip to Old Trafford. 

  • Story of the match

The Carabao Cup offers managers an opportunity to go down one of two routes. Either they can rest players and experiment with those who don't often feature, or they can field their star performers to mount a trophy charge.

In Nathan Jones' case, it handed him the chance to reclaim confidence after five defeats in a row left his new team rock bottom of the Premier League. A victory in the FA Cup last time out gave rise to the first step of recovery, and another strong lineup was named for Man City's visit.

James Ward-Prowse led the squad as he was followed by the opponent's former academy prospects Gavin Bazunu and Romeo Lavia - while new signing Mislav Orsic made the bench, and the club announced the arrival of exciting Argentinian midfielder Carlos Alcaraz from Racing Club before kickoff. 

By contrast, any lineup that Pep Guardiola names is a good one. But by leaving Rodri, Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne on the bench, the Spaniard made it clear the league is his priority as derby day peers over the horizon at the weekend. 

Two of the changes, Cole Palmer and Ilkay Gundogan, connected to produce the first shot in the match. Failing to clear his lines twice, Mohamed Salisu was robbed of the ball by the 20-year-old Mancunian, who squared the ball before Gundogan swiped his strike wide of the target.

Whilst the majority of Saints fans would have gone into the night with hope, and The Citizens breathed an air of expectation, Jones' men fought back and produced the sort of performance he would have pinned his hopes on after City conjured the first scare.

Bringing the game to City was a refreshing sight for the home fans as aggressive pressing, a positive mentality and faith in their ability meant Southampton made a good fist of the early period.

In the 22nd minute, The Saints drew on their foundations to bring about the first goal. No less than Southampton deserved, Lyanco started a counter-attack by himself before his delivery from the right met Sekou Mara just inside the box.

Turning his back on his side's poor league form, Mara's movement ahead of makeshift centre-back Kyle Walker allowed him to convert a sweet finish - his first for the club, despite 16 appearances leading the line. 

And if Guardiola wasn't already scratching his head and thinking about his options from the bench, having watched his team dominate 68% possession with only one shot in 25 minutes, a second goal five minutes after their first left the serial League Cup winners in trouble. 

Questions over Stefan Ortega's positioning will loom large but take nothing away from the finish. From 25 yards, Djenepo drove in from the left and looped his strike into the top right to give The Saints breathing space.

The home side continued to play in the tone they set from the first whistle for the remainder of the half. The additions to Diallo and Djenepo in midfield brought much-needed pressing to their game as what can only be described as a third lung became City's worst nightmare.

Whilst The Saints marched on to their finest 45 minutes of the season, Guardiola's 'fringe' players failed to impress in their auditions to feature more regularly in the league.

Southampton were first to every ball, and they played at a velocity even the most expensive squad in the country couldn't keep up with. 

After the break, Man City hit the panic button to keep their manager's record of never losing a domestic quarter-final unharmed by bringing on three substitutes.

De Bruyne, Akanji and Ake all came on to a collective groan amongst the home fans as halftime rain dried up at the restart. 

Within one minute, De Bruyne catalysed the first glimmer of a pick-me-up for City, releasing Julian Alvarez, who placed the shot narrowly wide of Bazunu's goal.

Southampton responded with an attack of their own, but City got away with their neglect of defensive responsibility as the home side dropped back into their comfortable 5-3-2 shape.

To neutral's surprise, the atmosphere at St Mary's turned nervous at the start of the second half, with Haaland's introduction only prefixing the concern The Saints wouldn't see out their lead. 

Rodri followed in a straight swap for Kalvin Phillips, but Jones' fiery attitude on the touchline was something advocated by his players as they showed no signs of slowing down.

In Haaland's first venture forward, it was Southampton who ran up the other end on the counter. Walker-Peters' whipped cross was headed away by Cancelo before the right-back's second cross moments later was fizzed across the face of the goal, with nobody on the end once more. 

Nevertheless, even with just 15 minutes left of the quarter-final, the crowd sensed victory was still far from sight. City have proven time and time again that they battle until the end and find a way.

Weight was temporarily lifted after Ward-Prowse's deflected shot fell to Che Adams, who slotted home. But the assistant's flag went up swiftly, and Bazunu made a fine save up the other end after Alvarez lacked conviction and the goalkeeper smothered his lunging shot. 

To combat City's growing pressure, which reached backs-to-the-wall stuff with a game of head tennis in the Saints box in the 83rd minute, Jones threw Orsic into the fray for his debut.

As the clock ticked seemingly faster for City, a foul throw from Cancelo gave the home side some relief while Guardiola's inner monologue ran louder. Rumours of six added minutes rang around the stadium, but the crowd didn't care - instead, a soundtrack of "ole's" filled the south coast sky. 

Had Haaland got his head on the end of a Rodri ball, it may not have been the case - but Southampton held on to a second consecutive cup victory to take into an important away fixture against Everton at the weekend.

As spectacular as his first goal in 22 months was, it was Djenepo's all-around performance that helped the Saints to victory. He provided the essential third lung to his team's midfield outlay that completely changed how Nathan Jones' men performed.

Going forward, Djenepo's around-the-clock appetite to chase balls and hunt opposition players could be the difference between survival. He was the embodiment of the aggression that his manager pursued in midweek.