Manchester City’s players celebrate winning the League Cup final against Arsenal.
Photo: AFP
Manchester City re-asserted themselves as trophy winners supreme as they gave Arsenal a chastening reality check with a 2-0 victory in the League Cup final thanks to Nico O’Reilly’s second-half double at Wembley.
Premier League leaders Arsenal arrived as favourites to win their first trophy since 2020 but were found wanting as City deservedly won the competition for the ninth time.
Five of those have come since Pep Guardiola arrived in 2016 and the Spaniard is now the most successful manager in the competition’s history, moving past Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson and Brian Clough who all won it four times.
It might be one of the sweetest triumphs of Guardiola’s vast collection too as his impressive side shrugged off their midweek elimination in the Champions League to make a mockery of talk of power shifts and Arsenal quadruples.
Arsenal, who had not won the League Cup since 1993, simply did not show up and will have to dust themselves down and focus on trying to clinch a first Premier League title since 2004.
As a final the showpiece did not live up to the pre-match billing with the first half a dreary stalemate.
But City went up a gear after the break and O’Reilly capitalised on a fumble by Arsenal keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to give City a deserved lead on the hour.
Arrizabalaga could only push a cross by Rayan Cherki over his own head and the ball bounced down for the alert O’Reilly to stoop and head into the empty goal.
Four minutes later City effectively wrapped it up as they created an overlap down the right and Matheus Nunes clipped a perfect cross for the 21-year-old O’Reilly to head in.
City did not win a trophy last year and are nine points behind Arsenal in the Premier League but showed that they are still very much a force to be reckoned with.
Forest beat Spurs in Premier League
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest dealt fellow Premier League strugglers Tottenham Hotspur a bitter blow in their relegation battle, winning 3-0 to leapfrog their rivals thanks to goals from Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi.
Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero.
Photo: Photosport
Spurs were arguably the better team before the break but only created one real chance which Richarlison squandered before Jesus headed in from Neco Williams’ corner on the stroke of halftime.
The impressive Mathys Tel forced a superb save from Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels in first-half added time, but that was as close as Spurs came on a miserable afternoon which dashed hopes that their season had turned the corner.
Gibbs-White, a summer target for Spurs, slotted home just after the hour mark and substitute Awoniyi added a late tap-in to send Spurs fans streaming for the exits. Those remaining in a half-empty stadium booed loudly at the final whistle.
Forest’s win – their first in the league under coach Vitor Pereira – puts them 16th with 32 points from 31 games, two points above Spurs in 17th on 30 points.
“It’s absolutely a huge result,” Gibbs-White told Sky Sports. “There was a lot of worry going into this game and about the outcome. But the boys were incredible. We defended with our lives today.”
Spurs are one point above 18th-placed West Ham United, who lost 2-0 at Aston Villa on Sunday.
John McGinn gave Villa an early lead before Ollie Watkins doubled their advantage after the break to ensure West Ham stay in the relegation zone over an extended break for international games and the FA Cup.
Forest take step towards survival
Spurs came into the match on a 12-game winless run in the league but buoyed by their first point under boss Igor Tudor at Liverpool last weekend and a 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid in midweek Champions League action, albeit they still lost on aggregate.
But all the pre-game optimism had disappeared by the end of Sunday’s clash, which leaves Spurs in deep trouble and Tudor on the brink.
Richarlison ought to have put Spurs ahead in the 15th minute and shortly after a defensive header from Jesus bounced off the woodwork as Spurs started brightly.
But, for all they peppered the Forest box with Kevin Danso’s long throws and Tel’s dangerous corners, Spurs did not manage a shot on target before Jesus scored in the 45th minute.
Tudor was at the game but missed the post-match press conference for a family matter that UK media said was a bereavement. In his place, coach Bruno Saltor said fine margins were going against Spurs.
“The first 44 minutes, I thought were good, really good, creating chances, getting into the box” he told reporters. “Second half, probably we were not able to deal with the weight of the game.”
Guglielmo Vicario, who is due to undergo surgery next week on a hernia, saved Williams’ header early in the second half but was too easily beaten in the 62nd minute by Gibbs-White to put the game beyond Spurs.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.
Photo: Photosport
Awoniyi scored a third in the 87th minute to add gloss to a good week for Forest, who progressed to the Europa League quarter-finals on penalties in midweek.
Pereira, Forest’s fourth permanent manager of a turbulent season, insisted though that his players needed to keep fighting to ensure top-flight survival.
“We have a lot of points to get until the end of the season,” he told reporters. “We must keep our mentality.”
Alleged discriminatory abuse investigated
Meanwhile, the Premier League said it is investigating an incident of “discriminatory abuse” during Sunderland’s 2-1 derby win away to Newcastle United on Sunday after one of visiting team’s players was allegedly racially abused.
The incident occurred early in the second half of the frenetic north-east clash when Newcastle’s Sven Botman was being treated for a head injury, causing referee Anthony Taylor to briefly stop the game.
“Today’s match between Newcastle United and Sunderland was temporarily paused during the second half after a report of discriminatory abuse from the crowd, directed at Sunderland’s Lutsharel Geertruida,” the league statement said.
“This is in line with the Premier League’s on-field anti-discrimination protocol. The incident at St James Park will now be fully investigated. We offer our full support to the player and both clubs.”
Newcastle United also offered their support to the 25-year-old Dutch defender.
“Our stance is clear – we do not tolerate discrimination of any form. We will work with the authorities to fully investigate and will ensure any individuals are identified and held accountable,” a Newcastle spokesperson said.
The incident took the shine of a superb second-half performance by Sunderland, who came back from a goal down and snatched the three points with a 90th-minute goal from striker Brian Brobbey.
“He (Geertruida) looks OK. It is unacceptable, and important to report and manage the situation properly. He looks OK, but we need to support him,” Sunderland coach Regis le Bris said.
– Reuters