First-half strikes do the trick as City claim cup treble
ASTON VILLA ...................... 1 MANCHESTER CITY ........... 2
MANCHESTER City completed a hat-trick of Carabao Cup wins after a nervy 2-1 win over battling Aston Villa.
Sergio Aguero and Rodri struck in the first half at Wembley to earn Pep Guardiola his 29th trophy as a manager.
Mbwana Samatta pulled a goal back for Villa but despite Bjorn Engels hitting a post with two minutes left, a spirited performance could not stop City.
For Dean Smith’s Villa, defeat capped a weekend which saw them drop into the bottom three in the Premier League after their relegation rivals picked up vital wins.
Villa have won three of their last 13 league games but can take heart from their gutsy display in the final.
Villa took the game to their opponents and Anwar El Ghazi planted a header over after three minutes.
But Guardiola’s side soon took control. They dominated possession as Villa sat deep, trying to probe for an opening but initially found their opponent’s massed ranks difficult to break down.
But Aguero’s breakthrough inevitably came after 20 minutes. Rodri’s fine pass found Phil Foden escaping around the back and his header fell for Aguero to sweep in from six yards.
Foden’s angled drive deflected wide and Guardiola’s side waited for the right moment to pick Villa off again.
They did not have to wait long for a simplistic second on the half hour. Grealish blocked Ilkay Gundogan’s cross with Lee Mason awarding a corner. Villa disputed it, with replays confirming it should have been a goal kick, but then failed to deal with Gundogan’s delivery and Rodri got above Frederic Guilbert to crash in a header.
Tyrone Mings blocked Raheem Sterling’s drive to prevent a third before John Stones’ slip gifted Villa a way back four minutes before the break. The defender tumbled as he chased Matt Targett’s chip, which allowed El Ghazi to cross for Samatta to head in from six yards.
Orjan Nyland denied Rodri a second with 17 minutes left when he turned the midfielder’s header wide and Aguero hit the side netting before Villa almost forced extra time with two minutes remaining.
Conor Hourihane swung in a corner and Engels’ header was brilliantly turned onto the post by Claudio Bravo.
Guardiola said: “Three times in a row is a big success. They had two clear chances in the first minutes but we played really well, especially in the second half.”