Man City old guard help Guardiola win 1st trophy

LONDON » After finishing his first season in England empty-handed, Pep Guardiola finally collected his first trophy with Manchester City on Sunday. Thanks to some familiar faces. Despite recruiting more than $600 million in talent in around 18 months, Guardiola relied on City’s old guard to produce the 3-0 victory over Arsenal in the League Cup final.

Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva, who formed the backbone of City’s Premier League title wins in 2012 and 2014, scored the goals at Wembley Stadium that lifted a burden off Guardiola.

“It’s special they scored,” the manager said. “They help us to understand what it means in the club to win titles. Because they won titles, they put pressure on us to continue to win titles.”

The victory, aided by Arsenal’s brittle defending, allowed City to quickly restore order after Monday’s surprise exit from the FA Cup at Wigan. The pursuit of a quadruple was extinguished by the thirdtier side, but City is now one step closer to a treble.

The Premier League seems a formality for City, with a 13-point lead and a game in hand over Manchester United, which beat Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday. A place in the Champions League quarterfinals also looks certain with Basel beaten 4-0 in the last-16 first leg.

For all the investment in players during the decade under Abu Dhabi ownership, the return in silverware seems relatively sparse. Still, the six trophies won since 2011 represents a greater haul than in the previous 50 years for a team finally emerging from the shadows of its more illustrious neighbor, United.

Kompany is the ever-present, with the 31-year-old captain collecting his sixth winners medal with City on Sunday.

“An incredible moment for us,” said the Belgian defender, whose playing time has been limited by injuries in recent years. “You don’t want it to stop. Every little bit of hardship you go through, it is worth it.”

Guardiola had never gone a season in management without a trophy in his previous jobs at Barcelona and Bayern Munich until last year.

Now he is starting to deliver, albeit in the least significant competition for the club.

“I cannot forget how they took care of me last (season),” Guardiola reflected on the Abu Dhabi ownership. “I will always remember how ... Sheik Mansour was the first one and told all the people to support me.”

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. And the Gunners have to face City again in the league on Thursday.

“I feel that a little bit everything went against us today,” Wenger said, “and we self-inflicted our punishment.” UNITED FIGHTS BACK » 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.

TIM IRELAND — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola, centre poses for photographers as he celebrates after his team won the English League Cup defeating Arsenal 3-0 in the final at Wembley stadium in London, Sunday.