Carabao Cup final: Raheem Sterling scores winner as Man City beat Chelsea 4-3 on penalties at Wembley
Raheem Sterling fired the winner in a penalty shootout as Man City retained the Carabao Cup following a 0-0 stalemate against Chelsea at Wembley.
Chelsea produced a battling performance throughout and there was never going to be a repeat of their 6-0 hammering by City a few weeks ago in the Premier League.
That hard work was undermined late on in extra time as Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was involved in an amazing stand-off with manager Maurizio Sarri by refusing to be substituted after going down twice with cramp.
Chelsea boss Sarri wanted to replace the apparently injured goalkeeper with Willy Caballero in the closing minutes of extra time at Wembley but the Spaniard stayed on the field despite his number being shown on the board.
Under-pressure Sarri reacted with fury as as the game ended goalless after 120 minutes.
Kepa redeemed himself slightly by saving a spot-kick from Leroy Sane but with Ederson denying Jorginho and David Luiz hitting a post, City claimed victory 4-3 on penalties and the first leg of a potential quadruple.
Stalemate at Wembley
It was a quiet opening 20 minutes at Wembley as neither side created any chances.
City enjoyed the territorial dominance but lacked their usual zip in the final third.
It was largely an exercise in attack versus defence as City continued to dominate the play but they came up against an organised Chelsea side, far different to the one that was hammered 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium a couple of weeks ago.
Sergio Aguero blazed an effort over from 15 yards but neither side mustered a shot on target in a goalless first half.
Aguero thought he had put City ahead 10 minutes after the restart as he latched onto a loose ball and slotted home but he was flagged offside, with VAR ruling it was marginally the correct decision.
There was nothing to separate the two sides at the end of 90 minutes as it went to extra-time.
Chelsea improved as the second half went on while City lacked the creativity after Aguero's goal was disallowed.
The teams were still level at the end of extra time, meaning the Carabao Cup final would be decided on penalties.
On to penalties
In the closing moments, Chelsea keeper Arrizabalaga appeared to refuse to be substituted as Maurizio Sarri wanted to bring on Willy Caballero for the Spaniard who was struggling with cramp.
Much to the Italian's frustration, Arrizabalaga faced the shootout.
Raheem Sterling slammed in the winning penalty off the underside of the bar as Manchester City retained the Carabao Cup.
City were handed the advantage in the shootout as Jorginho had the first kick saved by Ederson. But they clawed their way back in as Arrizabalaga saved Leroy Sane's penalty, only for David Luiz to put City on the brink by missing his spot-kick.
Hazard kept his nerve, but Sterling clinched the trophy.
Sterling said on Sky Sports: "It's a great feeling. I'm home, this is Wembley, my city. It was a tough game but it's just amazing. The boys were brilliant today.
"I spoke to Leroy (Sane) before (the penalty) and I knew if I scored that was the winner and that was all the confidence I needed to make sure it went in."
Sterling was seen speaking to Guardiola after the winning spot-kick, and said: "He said he didn't watch it and asked where it went in. I told him the top."
Chelsea v Man City - Opta stats
- Manchester City have won the League Cup for a sixth time – only Liverpool (eight) have won the trophy more often in the competition’s history.
- The last two League Cup finals to go to penalties have both been won by Manchester City (also 2016 against Liverpool).
- This was the first League Cup final to end goalless since 2009, when Man Utd and Spurs played out a goalless draw.
- The last two occasions that Man City have failed to score in a match this season have come against Chelsea (also 0-2 at Stamford Bridge in December).
- Manchester City have won each of their last six penalty shootouts, with the last five all coming in the League Cup.
- The first shot of the match came in the 22nd minute, while the first shot on target wasn’t until the 43rd minute.
- Callum Hudson-Odoi – aged 18 years and 109 days – became Chelsea’s second-youngest player to appear in a League Cup final, after John Boyle (18y 80d) in 1965.
- Two of the four finals involving Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola as a manager to have gone to penalties have been against Chelsea, with Guardiola winning both (also 2013 Super Cup with Bayern Munich).