Swansea wins League Cup final
LONDON — Swansea denied Bradford the perfect end to its fairy tale run in the League Cup by thrashing the fourthtier club 5-0 in the final, capping its centenary season with a first major trophy.
Manchester City hasn’t given up on winning silverware this year, either, after reviving its faint Premier League title hopes with a 2-0 win over Chelsea. The champions stayed 12 points behind Manchester United.
While City needed secondhalf goals by Yaya Toure and Carlos Tevez to wear down the European champions, Swansea’s victory at Wembley Stadium was never really in doubt from the moment Nathan Dyer scored the 16th-minute opener.
Dyer and Jonathan de Guzman both finished with two goals and Michu grabbed the other in the largest winning margin in the final of English football’s second-tier knockout competition.
Bradford was looking to add the Welsh club to a list of Premier League conquests that already included Arsenal, Aston Villa and Wigan in its unprecedented run to the final.
“The early goal killed us,” Duke said.
“It is disappointing but this is a massive plus for the football club, a massive achievement and we have to remember that.”
Bradford was the first fourth-tier team to reach a major final since 1962.
City produced one of its most assured and convincing displays of the season to issue a reminder to United the fight for the title remains on.
Arsenal is only two points behind Chelsea in the race for the final Champions League spots.
France internationals Moussa Sissoko and Yohan Cabaye capped Newcastle’s self-designated “French Day” by scoring goals in a 4-2 win over Southampton i n the other league match, lifting the team clear of relegation trouble.