Kelechi Iheanacho claimed his first-ever piece of silverware for Manchester City in their English League Cup triumph on Sunday. Manuel Pellegrini’s men silenced Liverpool 3-1 on penalties after the game had finished 1-1 after extra-time at Wembley. Iheanacho, though made the substitutes bench but was not thrown into the fray by his Argentine manager who brought in Pablo Zabaleta, Wilfried Bony and Jesus Navas.

The Nigerian was on target for the Manchester based outfit in their 5-1 defeat of Crystal Palace and also found the back of the net in their 4-1 win against Hull City in the fifth round. The Citizens squandered a number of chances to win it in 90 minutes and paid the price when Coutinho powered home late on with Liverpool's first shot on target and extra-time did not produce a winner. But Willy Caballero's heroics means City win the competition for the second time in three seasons and the fourth time overall in what is manager l Pellegrini's final season in charge of the club. City's previous success in 2014 was followed up by a Premier League crown and that trophy remains up for grabs this season, along with the Champions League.

Nigerian wonder kid Kelechi Iheanacho has been included in Manchester City’s squad for the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League. The 2013 Fifa U17 World Cup MVP was rewarded by City boss Manuel Pellegrini for a sensational burst to first-team prominence having bagged an impressive tally of eight goals in 18 appearances thus far.
The Chilean tactician has already hinted at the Super Eagles’ forward inclusion to the squad following injuries to Kevin De Bruyne and Wilfried Bony that have limited his options in attack. The Belgian winger is set to be out for six weeks with a knee problem while Bony is still struggling with a calf injury that’s sidelined him for two weeks. Making way from the elite list is France playmaker Samir Nasri, who hasn’t featured for the Citizens since the 5-1 win over Bournemouth In October after picking up a nasty hamstring injury.


The former Arsenal and Marseille player has subsequently undergone surgery on the problem and may return to first-team action in March. City face Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League last 16 with the first leg coming in Kiev on February 24. The two-time Premier League champions will be looking tom make the quarterfinals of Europe’s premier competition for the first time.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini says Kelechi Iheanacho's hat-trick against Aston Villa proves the club were right to sell Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic. The 19-year-old took full advantage of Sergio Aguero being rested to score three times in the FA Cup fourth-round tie at Villa Park on Saturday, with Raheem Sterling netting the other in a comfortable 4-0 win. Dzeko and Jovetic joined Serie A sides Roma and Inter respectively at the start of the season and Pellegrini believes Iheanacho is showing that allowing the more experienced pair to go was the right decision.

“It’s very important for him to have the chance to demonstrate why he is in this squad so I think that was a very useful game for him. “To score a hat trick is not easy but I’m impressed because I see him in the way he works every day and how he’s improving in every session working with these important players.”

Over the weekend, Kelechi Iheanacho made history by becoming the 3rd youngest player to score an English Premier League goal for his club Manchester City FC. He scored the winning goal within seconds of being brought in. A little drama however played out when his teammate, Raheem Sterling, took to Twitter to call him Uncle Kelechi, a vague reference to his true age. Sterling is 20 years old while Kelechi is 18 years old.

City’s 125th different Premier League goalscorer could not wipe the smile from his face after climbing off the bench to score with his first touch against Crystal Palace. Kelechi Iheanacho was introduced after 89 minutes in a tough, goalless match at Selhurst Park and promptly netted his first Premier League goal after reacting quickest to Samir Nasri’s spilled shot. The Nigerian, so impressive on pre-season for the first team, was grateful to Manuel Pellegrini for handing him his opportunity. “It means so much to me,” he beamed. “I'm happy and very grateful and I thank the manager for introducing me. “The fans went crazy when I scored. We are all happy.” 


It had proved to have been the toughest assessment of City’s season so far as Crystal Palace went toe-to-toe with the league’s only team with a 100% record. Just when it looked as though the game was petering out to a goalless draw, Kelechi came up with the goods and he’s hoping for more opportunities in the coming weeks. “Palace is a great team - they have done well to be second in the Premier League table. “I will try to do my best in in training and in games if I'm introduced. I'm hoping to do great for the team. “It's not easy. We have great players here but I have to keep working hard. “We are much stronger this season with quality players. We are going to go all the way.”