1 hour ago
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Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-0 in the League Cup final with Nico O'Reilly the best player on the pitch in a terrific team performance.
Manchester City won the Carabao Cup for the first time since 2021 with a 2-0 win over Arsenal. The Quadruple dreams are over for Mikel Arteta's men as Pep Guardiola's side give themselves a trophy and what they hope is a springboard for the Premier League and FA Cup this season.
Arsenal started strongly against a City side that had Ruben Dias ruled out of the game with injury, restricting the Blues to no shots on target in the opening 45 minutes despite having 60 per cent possession. But City grew into the game and turned the tables on Arsenal in the second half as they attacked the end in front of their own fans.
Two goals from Nico O'Reilly in front of England manager Thomas Tuchel gave City a lead that they did not give up and James Trafford was able to celebrate a clean sheet as well.
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Here are the player ratings from the Manchester Evening News:
Trafford: Made that triple save early on to calm City nerves and barely put a foot wrong in what has been an excellent tournament. 8
Nunes: Drew Guardiola's ire on a number of occasions in the first half but grew into it and did very well for the second goal. 7
Khusanov: His pace got City out of trouble on a number of occasions and his no-nonsense defending was mostly to City's benefit, even if he was booked. 7
Ake: A few jittery moments over the course of the game but he also did plenty to ease City nerves by keeping cool under pressure. 7
O'Reilly: Nearly a 10 in an outstanding performance that saw him keep Saka and then Madueke quite while scoring two goals. 9
Rodri: He was immense, always picking the right pass and making sure City never lost control for too long at any point. 8
Silva: Did what he does so well, keeping the game ticking apart from when it needs breaking up with those fouls that go under the radar. 7
Cherki: Anonymous for the first half hour but really stood up and showed that he wanted the ball, even showboating in the second half. 8
Semenyo: Saw plenty of the ball but it felt like he didn't test Hincapie enough and he was uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal. 6
Doku: Struggled as a lone out-ball early on, then started making better decisions and Arsenal couldn't get the ball back. 8
Haaland: Pushed and shoved with the two centre-backs all game, came back to win possession and contributed despite not scoring. 7
Substitutes
Foden (for Cherki, 89): No time. N/A
Not used: Donnarumma, Ait-Nouri, Stones, Kovacic, Reijnders, Gonzalez, Marmoush, Savinho
Simon is the Chief Manchester City Writer for the Manchester Evening News, as well as Reach's national titles. He joined the MEN sport desk in 2013 and has covered City home and away since 2016, reporting on Pep Guardiola's time at the club. He took over from Stuart Brennan in 2022 to become chief City writer and followed the team as they made history with the Treble and then four consecutive Premier League titles. Simon has also written a book with insider stories on City's rise called The Blueprint, which was published in 2024.
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