James Milner and Frank Lampard Impress as Man City's Squad Depth Shows

MANCHESTER, England — ETIHAD STADIUM

Manchester City hit seven second-half goals as they battered Sheffield Wednesday 7-0 to get their League Cup defence off to a fine start.

Manuel Pellegrini named a strong side that demonstrated both the depth of quality at his disposal this season and his commitment to retaining the trophy that ended his wait for a major honour as a manager in Europe. Frank Lampard and James Milner, both largely fringe players so far this term, impressed throughout, and they will be hoping the form they have shown in the last two games means they have played their way into the manager’s strongest XI in games of more importance than this one.

Playing as the most advanced of City’s midfield three, Lampard produced moments of real class, pulling the strings with his passing and constantly looking to get on the end of balls into the box. He may not quite have the pace of old, but his brain and vision mean he is still a step ahead of many, and after his crucial goal against Chelsea just three days ago, he bagged another two here against 10-man Wednesday.

Afterward, Pellegrini was keen to praise the midfielder and even hinted there's a possibility he could stay beyond January when his current agreement ends.

He said:

"I think it’s very important for Frank to score again today. He is a very important player. I said after the game against a Chelsea he is a very important player for our team.

"Maybe he is now 36 years old and he cannot play three games in a row, but he continues knowing how to play this sport and Frank is a top player in that sense.

"At this moment, I think it is not the most important thing [extending his deal]. We will see what happens in January. we have a couple months more to decide, but I repeat we are going to do what is more important for the club and the player."

And Milner, who was the star of the show on Sunday with a Man of the Match display, is another with a point to prove. His contract at City ends this summer and he won't commit to another until he is given an indication he will play more often than last season.

He has started City's last three domestic matches and played well in all of them, with new freedom bringing an added dimension to his game. Not just restricted to the wings, Milner appears to have been encouraged to drift inside and influence proceedings and it's working.

He's playing with real vigour, and it will be difficult for Pellegrini to leave him out now. Indeed, his early withdrawal here suggested the Chilean had one eye on starting him in the game against Hull at the weekend. The rapturous reception he received as he left the field, coupled with the huge cheer when his name was read out prior to the game, appeared to be the fans' way of sending a message to the manager. They want Milner to stay.

Asked afterward whether he was impressed with Milner's recent contribution, his response suggested the England man is now uppermost in his selection thoughts.

He said:

"Impressed no, because I know what James Milner can do on the pitch. I think he is a player who always works a 100 percent everyday if he’s in the starting XI or not.

"But he’s always a great professional. Maybe in the last year he didn’t play so much as he wanted to, because the level of [David] Silva, [Samir] Nasri, [Jesus] Navas was very important also, but now he’s demonstrating every game that he plays what he can give to out team, so I am very happy for him."

Edin Dzeko scored two fine goals, and Navas smashed home a wonderful top-corner effort, but a fine evening in which City's fringe players starred was capped by a wonderful cameo from 18-year-old Jose Angel Pozo, a player signed from Real Madrid in 2012 and one who has been impressing Pellegrini for some time. Throughout his time at City, which has been hampered somewhat by injury, he has played above his age group in the under-21s and shown real promise.

His display here was extremely mature. He kept things simple, resisting the temptation to overplay in a bid to impress his manager, and he got his reward when he scored City's sixth of the night with two minutes remaining.

There's little doubt after this game that Pellegrini is taking this competition seriously again, and it's clear he has the squad to juggle the demands of multiple competitions. There's real strength in depth at City this season, with hungry players all over the pitch competing for places. Pellegrini looks set to have some welcome selection dilemmas in the coming weeks.

City will play Newcastle United at home in the fourth round of the League Cup

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard.