Manchester City back in hunt for Cup glory

After their FA Cup dreams are dashed by Man U, City turn focus to League Cup semi-finals

LONDON (Reuters) – Manchester City’s dreams of winning an FA Cup and League double ended on Sunday but Roberto Mancini’s men get the chance to bounce back immediately when they face Liverpool in the semi-final of the League Cup on Wednesday.

Whoever comes through that twolegged tie will meet the winners of the all-championship (second division) semi-final being contested by Cardiff City and Crystal Palace in the final at Wembley on February 26.

City ended a 35-year wait for a trophy when they won the FA Cup last season and, although they fell at the first hurdle when Manchester United beat them 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium, they still remain in the hunt for three trophies.

As well as the League Cup, they remain favorites to win the Premier League title race which they have led since mid-october. Although they are out of the Champions League, the Europa League offers them the realistic chance of a first continental honor since they won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1970.

City defeated Liverpool 3-0 at home in the Premier League last Tuesday and will be seeking a similar scoreline to put them in a commanding position for the second leg at Anfield on January 25.

Despite losing to United, Mancini was upbeat following City’s strong second half fightback, when, with 10 men, they reduced the halftime deficit of 3-0 to 32 by fulltime.

“The players showed character and have taken a step forward. I think more than ever that we can go on and win the league,” he said.

“If we show the same attitude and strength in other games that we showed against United with only 10 men then, yes, we can win the league. I said we had to improve and I think we are doing so.”

Liverpool, who have won the League Cup a record seven times, will also be taking Wednesday’s match seriously with Kenny Dalglish expected to take a strong side to Manchester as they seek their first honor since lifting the FA Cup in 2006.

Dalglish became Liverpool’s manager exactly a year ago and Ian Rush, the club’s record all-time scorer, said on Monday he thought the team had JAMES MILNER (second from left) and Manchester City get a quick opportunity to wash away the bad taste of their FA Cup defeat with their League Cup semi-finals match against Liverpool on Wednesday. improved beyond recognition under the Scot’s influence in the last 12 months.

“If you look at Liverpool Football Club when Kenny took over compared to where it is now, there’s a massive difference,” he told the club’s website on Monday.

“With Kenny it’s all about the club. You win nothing as individuals, it’s all about the team. The squad is so much stronger than it was a year ago. The expectations are very high and that can take some getting used to...over the past year there’s been real progress. We have become a force again.”

Mancini was confident on Tuesday that outcast striker Carlos Tevez would find a new club in the January transfer window.

The Argentine, who has not played for the Premier League leaders since refusing to warm up in a Champions League match at Bayern Munich in September, has been linked with Italian clubs AC Milan and Inter Milan.

Milan’s pursuit appears to have hit a brick wall as City have ruled out a loan deal which is favored by the Serie A club, while Inter president Massimo Moratti confirmed his club’s interest in the player on Monday.

“I think maybe we can find a good solution in January...also because it is important for Carlos. Now it is three or four months that he hasn’t played,” Mancini told a news conference.

“I know that there is Inter maybe that is interested because I read the newspapers, and Milan the same but I don’t know the last news.”

Tevez was fined by City and suspended during an internal investigation, with Mancini subsequently offering him an olive branch if he apologized. He instead missed training and returned to his homeland without permission to shut the door on a return.

AC Milan have been vocal in their bid to acquire the striker, who was signed by City from Manchester United for 25 million pounds ($38.61 million) in July 2009, but they could be pipped at the post by rivals Inter.

In FA Cup action, with a familiar stroke of the right boot guiding the ball into the net, a celebratory hug with Arsene Wenger and pandemonium amongst ecstatic Arsenal fans, it was as if record goalscorer Thierry Henry had never left North London on Monday night.

Substituted into the Premier League club’s third round match against Leeds United on 68 minutes with the score at 0-0, the on-loan striker took just 10 minutes to break the deadlock with the winning goal for his beloved Arsenal.

“I’m not coming back here to be a hero or prove anything, I’m coming here to help,” Henry said in the match program. He did.

Hero status Henry does not need, he already has that in spades, as the cheer that greeted his name when it was announced moments before kick off and that which marked his entrance onto the pitch confirmed.

Even when he was on the bench, Arsenal fans were voting for Henry as manof-the-match and, rather sheepishly, the 34-year-old accepted the award.

“I think it’s a joke,” he said, looking bemused as he clutched the bottle of champagne.

In trademark style, the French striker calmly slotted the ball into the net from 10 yards out after being found in space on the left side of the penalty area by Alex Song.

Henry, who plays for Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls, made 370 appearances for Arsenal from 1999 to 2007 and scored 226 goals.

“When I left the club I cried,” Henry said in the program. “I haven’t cried a lot in my career, but when I do it seems that something is happening with Arsenal. I love the club. They say love is blind right? It’s difficult for me to say no to Arsenal.”

Elsewhere, Mark Hughes returned to the Premier League after a seven-month absence when he was appointed manager of struggling Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday.

The 48-year-old Welshman, replacing Neil Warnock who was sacked on Sunday, has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the Loftus Road club who are hovering one place and one point above the relegation zone.

“It's a great feeling to be back in football and to be the manager of QPR,” former Manchester United and Chelsea striker Hughes, said.

“I'm fully aware of the challenge in the short and long term and I am genuinely excited about the ambition of the owners.” Wednesday On TV: Manchester City vs Liverpool (live on Sport 1 at 9:40 p.m.)