Manchester City claimed their fourth successive Carabao Cup and for the sixth time in eight seasons as Aymeric Laporte’s late header beat Tottenham.
Laporte, possibly lucky to be on the pitch after escaping a first-half booking before later seeing yellow, nodded in Kevin de Bruyne’s free-kick.
Ferna!! ????
???? #ManCity | https://t.co/axa0klD5re pic.twitter.com/jiv377gsuD
— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 25, 2021
Harry Kane recovered from injury to start, but Spurs offered little.
The game was watched by the largest number of people in England during the Covid-19 pandemic, as 8,000 attended.
City start their silverware collection
Pep Guardiola’s face was a picture of joy at the end of a week that saw Manchester City heavily criticised as one of the Premier League clubs involved in the ill-fated and quickly abandoned European Super League.
No-one can begrudge City or Guardiola this piece of history, with Laporte’s winner finally giving a performance that was top class in so many areas the end product it deserved.
Riyad Mahrez was outstanding while Raheem Sterling was tireless – even if his finishing touch still eludes him.
It means City, who lost the chance of a historic quadruple when they were beaten by Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley eight days ago, secure their first trophy of the season three days before their Champions League semi-final first leg at Paris St-Germain.
City are within touching distance of retaining the Premier League title so this cup success, the 30th major trophy of Guardiola’s glittering managerial career, sets the perfect platform for further glory ahead.
The Spaniard’s players may have feared they would pay for their missed chances but anything other than a City win would have been a real injustice.
