The 35-year-old goalkeeper has not played in the Premier League since 2011 (or 3645 days): the last match for West Brom was also against Newcastle, according to information of news and betting outlet bookmaker ratings.
Before the game, Newcastle gave Man City a guard of honour. The official reason is the title of the Guardiola team, but for sure the home team were also glad to greet Scott Carson.
An hour before the match, when City posted the squad, Scott Carson became the main trend in British Twitter, just above politics and video games.
Before the game, the goalkeeper spoke about his nerves: “Even with my experience, it’s good to be a little nervous! This does not allow you to relax”.
In Carson’s case, the reserve defence did not allow him to relax: Nathan Ake and Eric Garcia played in the centre. Ake especially tried, as if it was him, and not Garcia, who was going to leave for Barcelona in the summer.
At first, the Dutchman did not reach Emil Kraft at a corner. The Swedish defender hammered in with his head. Although it seemed that Carson reacted late.
At the end of the first half, Ake got Joelinton’s leg in the penalty area. The Brazilian took the shot himself: Carson guessed the corner but did not reach the ball.
Several times Garcia and Walker cleaned up for Ake in defence, although the Englishman also brought a penalty in the second half: he cut down Joe Willock.
Willock himself approached the point, shot into the right corner, Carson jumped there.
But Scott did not have time to get up: Willock was the first to get to the rebound and finished off.
After three goals it was sad to look at the veteran, but it seems that the only one who felt sorry for the 35-year-old goalkeeper was Ferran Torres. Immediately after the third conceded the Spaniard answered with a double (another goal was in the first half, what an ending with a backheel!) And helped City to win, making it 4:3. The Spaniard is only a couple of months old after 21, making it the youngest hat-trick author in Pep Guardiola’s teams: even Messi made his first hat-trick later, at over 22.
Thanks to Torres, Scott Carson has one hundred percent statistics: one game for City, one win plus a penalty save. The only mishap is that the team conceded three.
After the match, everyone approached the debutant. Ederson and Zach Steffen congratulated especially fiercely. It seems these guys don’t feel any competition at all.
“Scott is the hero of the club off the pitch. I am glad to allow him to play today! “, explained Guardiola before the match.
Why did City buy Carson at all?
Guardiola needed a third goalkeeper to fit into the homegrown rule.
- Homegrown player is someone who has played for English clubs for at least three years before his 21st birthday.
- In Premier League and UEFA club competitions, clubs are allowed to have only 25 players in the first squad. Just 17 of them may not be homegrown.
- Accordingly, eight places in the squad are reserved for homegrown footballers. If the team can’t get them, the slots are left unfilled.
- In the Champions League 2020/21, City registered only 21 players to the main squad minus four positions for the club’s homegrown players, who went through the youth application.
All 17 slots in City have been filled, including by two goalkeepers, Ederson and Steffen. Therefore, inviting an experienced Englishman to take the place of the third goalkeeper is a logical move. Chelsea (Robert Green) and Manchester United (Lee Grant) have done so recently.
Carson’s contract ends this summer. But before that, he can play a couple more matches.
