Home SPORTS Man City Edge Chelsea To Retain Carabao Cup

Man City Edge Chelsea To Retain Carabao Cup

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Manchester City successfully defended the League Cup after defeating Chelsea on penalties in a game where Blues goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted.  

Pep Guardiola made one chang from the win over Schalke as as Zinchenko replaced Illkay Gundogan, while Gonzalo Higuain was surprisingly left on the bench for City.  

Unlike the league contest a couple weeks ago, there was a measured start to the encounter as chances were few and far between in the early exchanges.  

The game’s first real opening arrived shortly after the 20-minute mark when Bernardo Silva did well pick out Sergio Aguero at the far post but the Argentine sent his effort over the crossbar.  

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While City dominated the possession, the Blues looked to use their pace on the counter whenever the opportunity arose, however the City defence remained resolute.  

The Citizens nearly broke the deadlock on the stroke of halftime through Nicolas Otamendi, who saw his header palmed away by goalkeeper Arrizabalaga.  

Ten minutes into the second half, City had the ball in the back of the net when Aguero slotted home from close range, however the striker’s goal was flagged for offside.  

Chelsea went close to breaking the deadlock with 25 minutes left in the second half when Eden Hazard broke down the left before pocking out N’Golo Kante, who sent his effort over the bar from close range.  

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Both coaches opted for a change for the final 10 minutes of the half as the highly-rated Callum Hudson-Odoi replaced Pedro for Chelsea, while City’s David Silva made way for Gundogan.  

The game was forced into extra-time after neither side could find a break through in the latter stages of regulation time, although it didn’t fare any better in the extra 30 minutes.  

There was a bit of drama in the final minutes of extra-time when Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted for Willy Caballero, who is known as a penalty specialist.  

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Nevertheless, Arrizabalaga did manage to save a penalty in the shoot-out but it was not enough as Jorginho and David Luiz missed theirs as City won 4-3 to retain the title.

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