Blues will never tire of winning silverware!
MAYBE City should get themselves European bans every season!
Since the Blues were handed the punishment by Uefa, they have won at Leicester to take a grip on second place, reaped some glory at Real Madrid, and now lifted the Carabao Cup for the third year on the bounce.
Goals from Sergio Aguero and Rodri were enough to see the Blues home, even though Mbwana Samatta’s header ensured it went to the wire.
And that was ample reward for the 34,600 supporters who dug deep into their pockets for the fourth visit to Wembley in a year.
For their affection, City fans have been bashed as badly as the club, called everything from plastic glory-hunters to human rights abuse vindicators – all of it utter nonsense, for a crime no more than loving your club.
This week they were even told, incredibly, that all the success had made them unhappy, and that they hankered for the good old, bad old days.
That fails to understand that, while City fans cherish the dark days, in which their faith, hope and loyalty was sorely tested, the memories of those times only make their success all the sweeter.
They are two sides of the same love, so that Shaun Goater and Andy Morrison are loved and revered in the same way as Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany.
The fans surging down Wembley Way certainly did not seem to be suffering from some kind of angst. They were doing what football supporters do, backing their club.
And the team responded with a routine win at Wembley, at the end of a dramatic and successful week.
Whatever the outcome of City’s legal wrangle with Uefa, the fans, the players and Pep Guardiola are wholly innocent, and don’t deserve the flak they have received.
At Wembley, they got the chance to come together and show that, on the pitch and in the stands, the Blues ARE a class act.
Villa began with some enterprise as Anwar El Ghazi headed onto the roof of the net but it was not long before the City clamp was crushing the life out of the Villans.
Foden had already looked the liveliest
of a City bunch who had eight changes from the team which beat Real Madrid in the week, but still looked like they had a Bernabeu hangover.
Sprinting from his own half, he was fouled in a bid to prevent a quick City counter-attack but bounced back to his feet and carried on, surging into the heart of the Villa defence.
After all the chit-chat about Jack Grealish in the build-up, the stage was set for the 19-year-old, and he rose to the challenge.
Villa were sitting deep and it would clearly need a moment of inspiration to prise them open.
They got two. Rodri, faced by the serried ranks of claret and blue, lifted a ball beyond the far post, where Foden had made a dart.
The youngster composed himself to head back across goal and found Aguero, who adjusted himself and volleyed beyond Orjan Nyland to break the
deadlock on 20 minutes. He was a fitting scorer, equalling the record for League Cup final appearances with five – the same as team-mates David Silva and Fernandinho, plus Ryan Giggs, Emile Heskey and Petr Cech.
The Stockport lad was on fire in the first half, and even showed that his hours in the gym, building up that slight physique, has paid off after he muscled Jack Grealish off the ball.
Grealish has been hailed as the next big thing for England, linked with moves to both City and United in the summer.
Foden showed everyone that he has been the next big English thing for two years, even though he is still a teenager.
City had Sterling on the left but increasingly it was Foden on the right who became the focus of attacks, and when another thrust led to a corner on the half-hour, City went 2-0 up.
Villa complained, with some justification, that it should have been a goal kick but the decision stood and when Gundogan swung in the cross, Rodri roared in to thump a header past Nyland.
The Spain midfielder was not bought for his aerial prowess, but it was very much seen as a bonus – and with two headed goals from corners in the last 11 days, it is turning into quite a bonus.
Villa struck back as John Stones, recalled from the cold after being left out of the matchday squad entirely in midweek, stumbled and fell as he backpedalled, seeking to deal with a high ball.
That sent Grealish away on the left and when his cross found Samatta, his header beat Claudio Bravo all ends up.
That gave an edge to the second half, but City remained firmly in control, and the introduction of Kevin de Bruyne and Bernardo Silva just increased the dominance.
City pressed hard without forging too many chances, although Blues fans on both sides thought Aguero’s volley from Bernardo’s clever cross had gone in it as billowed the side netting.
Claudio Bravo, who had nothing to do for most of the game, proved to be a late hero as he turned Bjorn Engels’ header onto the post.