An Erling Haaland hat-trick and Antoine Semenyo strike took us into a record eighth successive semi-final on a memorable afternoon at the Etihad Stadium.
The defensive unit were excellent throughout, with James Trafford making a second-half penalty save to maintain the clean sheet.
Khusanov was a key part of that performance, with the 22-year-old making massive strides in his second year in Manchester.
Assistant coach Lijnders, speaking to the media after Guardiola’s touchline ban meant he watched the game from the stands, lit up when asked about the Uzbek.
“Every time I see Khusa on the training pitch or in the hall I say ‘fast!’. He’s so fast. But he’s calm as well,” he began.
“He defends so smart and it helps if you have a lot of speed in the back. “
“Today the whole last line, all four, the way we dealt with how many players they put on the inside, how they try to make the runs, how we dealt with that and controlled that and still be high.
“They played really good all four. We saw in the first goal kick how there was no solution and he just steps and commits into the midfield.
“He’s making steps and he has to make sure he keeps growing. A young player with lots of potential. There’s a lot of new players that can make that step.”
Watch the full press conference at the top of the page…
