League Cup

MANCHESTER CITY’S love affair with the League Cup continues.
In late April at Wembley they will be aiming to win it for a sixth time in eight seasons.

John Stones gave Man City the lead early in the second halfCredit: Reuters

United’s backline were left speechless by City’s openerCredit: Reuters

It has been in permanent residency at the Etihad since 2018 with a hat-trick of victories under Pep Guardiola.
Now they go for one more and with it will be level with Liverpool on eight in the all time list.
Standing in Pep’s way will be Jose Mourinho, ten years after they last met in a major domestic cup final.
Then it was the Copa del Rey and Mourinho triumphed as his Real Madrid team beat Barcelona 1-0.

He will have a plan again to deny a free flowing Pep team.
It will have to be a very good one, because City are flying right now.
After early season wobbles this is 12 unbeaten in all competitions, nine of them wins and nine clean sheets.
Last night’s triumph came courtesy of a John Stones close range stab from Phil Foden’s free kick on 50 minutes then with seven minutes left Fernandinho’s 20-yard grass cutter sealed the deal.

Fernandinho volleyed City into a 2-0 leadCredit: PA:Press Association

United went into the game in form, but in this form City remain better, much better.
To have controlled this game to the extent they did against a side that is joint top of the league on points, shows just how good they are right now.
After a drab goalless draw here in the league last month the hope was that these two inform sides would go for it in this one-off semi-final encounter.
They answered that call for excitement by putting the ball in the net three times in the opening 25 minutes.
Unfortunately the linesman’s flag backed up by the VAR denied a goal every time.
The first came in just the second minute when Marcus Rasford broke through and his shot was saved by Zack Steffen but rebounded back in off John Stones.
When Phil Foden’s cross shot was turned in by Ilkay Gundogen three minutes later he was also clearly beyond the last defender.
He wagged his finger suggesting the officials had got it wrong, but you can’t get it wrong anymore so he was wasting his time really.
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Ilkay Gundogan thought he’d given City an early leadCredit: PA:Press Association

Phil Foden slotted past Dean Henderson… but was thwarted by the offside flagCredit: AP:Associated Press
Foden was miles off when he latched on to Kevin De Bruyne’s through ball and slipped a shot through Dean Henderson’s legs.
There would have been no flag however had De Bruyne’s shot in the 12th minute been an inch to the left.
Found by Raheem Sterling he released a shot from 20yards that curled at the last moment and walloped back of the left hand upright that was still shaking at half time.
De Bruyne, as against Chelsea in City impressive 3-0 league win last Sunday, was the architect of everything that was good about the visitors.
He just plays everywhere, impossible to track or pick up.
United were expecting him as a false nine but Riyad Mahrez began in that role.
De Bruyne would just go wherever and weave his patterns around the pitch.
Still, clear cut chances for both sides were at a premium in the first half.

Kevin De Bruyne struck the post in the first-halfCredit: AFP

A chilly Pep Guardiola couldn’t believe that his side didn’t take the lead in the first 45Credit: Getty Images – Getty
The closest United came to scoring in that opening period came in the ninth minute of an exciting start when a superb reverse pass by Scott McTominay just outside the box gave an unmarked Bruno Fernandes space to shoot.
He arrowed the ball to the top right-hand corner but Steffen’s save at full stretch was out of the top draw.
In the second-half City upped a gear and left United behind. It was just five minutes old when they took the lead.
It was a needless free-kick given away by Scott McTominay which lead to the goal.
Raheem Sterling was not in a dangerous position when he pulled him back and conceded the kick. But as Foden lined it up the alarm bells must have been ringing.
His delivery was brilliant curling it in low behind the line of red and blue shirts.
Fingers might be pointed at Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof for not intervening but such was the pace on the ball that a touch from either would have turned it into their own net.
At the far post Stones broke from the pack to stick out a foot and divert it home.

City finished United off late onCredit: Getty – Pool
His sixth goal in his City career all in the Cups.
While they were ahead City could not be comfortable.
No team has earned more than United’s 18 league points from being behind this season.
Still it looked like if anyone was going to add to the scoreline it was City them.
Joao Cancelo sent a scorching long range drive just over and Mahrez pulled out a superb save from Henderson when he to had a go from outside the box.
United started to get desperate as Anthony Martial’s dive in the area proved when he tried to win a pen.
Even United weren’t getting that one.
Then in the 83rd minute Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s poor clearing header from a Kevin De Bruyne corner was returned by Fernandino with a drive that bounced through a crowded box and past Henderson.
The scoreline finally reflected their dominance.
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HERE is an omen Spurs fans can get properly excited about — its name is Jose Mourinho.
For more than a decade, these eternal optimists from North London have been desperately searching for a  sign that they might actually win something.

Ben Davies restored Tottenham’s lead with 20 minutes remainingCredit: Reuters

Harry Kane made it 3-1 late onCredit: Reuters

It has made it a bit embarrassing that each time they have appeared close, Arsenal somehow stumbled their way to lifting the FA Cup.
But Mourinho was catapulted into White Hart Lane to win trophies  and now Spurs really  have a reason to believe this could be their year.
The season will even end with the number one, which used to  guarantee a pot — until   their  post-war run ended in 2001.
Despite being annoyed with Dele Alli, Mourinho saw his team overcome a cold and wet night in the Potteries to deservedly beat Stoke in the  quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

For the Portuguese coach, next month’s one-off shoot-out will be his fifth League Cup semi-final.  In the previous four, he has gone on to win the trophy.
Tottenham have not won any silverware since the League Cup in 2008  but were drawn with Brentford.
  And Mourinho said: “To win this trophy, we need to win two matches.
“But, of course,  it will be two very difficult matches.

“Brentford, for me, do not play like a Championship side but more like Premier League. We are in the semi-finals  to fight.”
Tottenham certainly have a better chance of winning the Carabao Cup than the Premier League.
It was massively important that after a poor set of results, namely a draw with Crystal Palace and losses to Liverpool and Leicester, Spurs avoided following Newcastle out of the tournament.
And despite making life difficult for themselves in the second half, there was still only one quality team in this with Harry Winks and Dele — until playing a part in Stoke’s leveller — both impressing.

Spurs were left fuming by Stoke’s equaliserCredit: PA:Press Association

Stoke equalised with their first shot on goalCredit: Reuters

Gareth Bale fired Spurs into a first-half leadCredit: AP:Associated Press

On current form, it seems unlikely Tottenham will be jumping at the chance of extending Gareth Bale’s loan to a second season.
But he made the most of his start by grabbing the opening goal.
This meant he  scored in successive League Cup appearances, although they just happened to be eight years apart  — the previous effort was in a 2-1 loss away to Norwich.
Keeper Andy Lonergan, 37, was playing his first competitive game since appearing for Rochdale in League One in March 2019 and he made some decent saves. But there was not a lot he could do about Bale’s opener.
Winks expertly lifted the ball over the home defence and Bale, with his back  to goal, turned and guided his header into the corner.

Dele Alli was handed a rare startCredit: Getty Images – Getty

There was no night off for Harry KaneCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Making his first start for a month, Dele had a couple of good chances, and Stoke resorted to some cynical challenges on the midfielder
But he blotted his copy book by losing possession, Stoke attacked and Jacob Brown crossed for Jordan Thompson to score at the far post.
Spurs’ second goal  came from Ben Davies, who seized on a  clearance by taking one touch before striking it sweetly from 25 yards. Son Heung-min had a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside, which would have been allowed had there been VAR.
Harry Kane sealed the win with a  finish into the roof of the net — and Spurs were through.
For Mourinho, he can smell yet another trophy. And in this situation, we all know what happens next.
Considering his record in the League Cup, it would actually be more surprising if he failed to win it.

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