Match Report & Player Ratings: Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City (Carabao Cup Final)
Match Report & Player Ratings: Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City (Carabao Cup Final) Nico O’Reilly’s season just keeps on getting better. A senior England debut at the beginning of October, a brace against Newcastle United in the Premier League a month ago and now, a double against Arsenal to hand City their first piece of silverware in nearly 22 months. This Carabao Cup final was, initially, an indication as to what the Premier League table currently looks like – with Mikel Arteta’s side dominating in the early stages.
However, City grew in the latter stages and O’Reilly’s duo of headers in the 60th and 64th minutes compounded the misery of a weakened Arsenal side in London. Indeed, it was the Gunners who made the much brighter start at a sold-out Wembley Stadium and a big test of City’s mettle came after just seven minutes when James Trafford, with full confidence from Guardiola, made a stunning triple save to nullify the Gunners’ early yet patient threat. They worked the ball into the box while a weakened City defence, tainted by Ruben Dias’s hamstring injury shortly before the match, struggled to wake.
Kai Havertz was slipped through by Martin Zubimendi before Trafford made his first stop, denying two consecutive Bukayo Saka efforts seconds later. It took Manchester City about 20 minutes to find their feet and shortly after Piero Hincapie was shown a yellow card for a foul on Matheus Nunes, Antoine Semenyo’s direct cross nearly flashed City in front when Erling Haaland leapt but missed the ball by inches. A vital challenge by Nathan Ake on Viktor Gyokeres and Hincapie’s off-target header later, City came with motivation and force once more – and again through Semenyo.
The £65 million January signing flicked a cute cross towards the Arsenal back post but Haaland, man-marked by both Ben White and Hincapie, couldn’t get up for it. But then, suddenly, City grew into the game into the second half particularly and after 55 minutes, Bernardo Silva worked the ball well on the edge of the area before a Rodri strike was blocked by a wall of red shirts. Not long after came the first of two rapid-fire blows for Mikel Arteta; the first came from Kepa Arrizabalaga, whose horror mistake – the ball slipping through his gloves after a cross from Rayan Cherki – gifted O’Reilly his seventh goal of the season.
And then came his eighth only three minutes later. This time, Rodri supplied Matehus Nunes on the right side of the box where a patient cross led to O’Reilly hammering a header into the far corner of the net. In little over 15 second-half minutes, the game was done.
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