City outclass Gunners to lift League Cup
Manchester City’s old guard combined to give manager Pep Guardiola his first trophy at the club with a 3-0 victory over Arsenal in the League Cup final yesterday.
Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva scored the goals that demonstrated the enduring value of the veterans at City despite Guardiola recruiting more than NZ$822 million in fresh talent in around 18 months.
The victory at Wembley Stadium, aided by Arsenal’s brittle defending, allowed City to quickly restore order after their surprise exit from the FA Cup at Wigan.
The pursuit of a quadruple was extinguished by the third-tier side, but City is now one step closer to a treble.
The Premier League seems a last-16 first leg.
For all the investment in players during the decade under Abu Dhabi ownership, the return in silverware has been scant at City.
Since winning the Premier League in 2014, only the League Cup has been collected - twice now.
Guardiola was hired to turn City into the trophy factory that Barcelona became from 2008-12, and he is starting to deliver in the second half of his second season in charge.
For Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, this is the latest chapter of gloom in a season that saw the FA Cup defense end at the first hurdle and the team slump to sixth in the league.
In the Premier League, substitute Jesse Lingard’s late header capped a comeback for Manchester United in a 2-1 win over Chelsea.
United regained second place with the result and is now 13 points behind crosstown rival Manchester City, which has a game in hand.
United striker Romelu Lukaku provided a cross from the right and Lingard beat Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen to the ball to head past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the 75th minute at Old Trafford.
Chelsea opened the scoring in the 32nd with a goal from Willian before Lukaku equalised for United seven minutes later.
‘‘We beat a very good team and to beat a very good team, you need to be organised,’’ United manager Jose Mourinho said.
‘‘But you also need to have a humble spirit where everybody works, everybody fights, everybody tries to follow a game plan.’’
The defeat means Chelsea is now in fifth place, two points behind Totttenham.