Carabao Cup final: Aston Villa 1 Man City 2 - Report and pictures

Were it not for the reflexes of Manchester City Claudio Bravo, Dean Smith’s team might well have taken the Premier League champions to extra time in a Carabao Cup final they entered as major underdogs.

Bravo pushed Bjorn Engels 88th minute header onto the post, as City claimed victory in the competition for the third season running.

Engels’ chance is one Villa had been waiting for in a second half they had spent largely on the back foot. There can be no complaints City were, over the 90 minutes, the better team and deserved winners.

But Smith’s men showed immeasurable spirit in sticking with their opponents, particularly after falling 2-0 down inside the opening 30 minutes.

There was controversy about City’s second, scored by Rodri after his team had been wrongly awarded a corner, the ball going out off Ilkay Gundogan and not Jack Grealish, as the assistant believed.

It proved to be the winner and the inability of VAR to check and correct such a clear, obvious and costly error will no doubt frame much of the post-match discussion.

Villa, who had gone behind to Sergio Aguero’s 20th minute opener, looked vulnerable at that point and those 33,000-plus supporters who roared on their team throughout may have feared a repeat of the 6-1 hiding they suffered in the Premier League against the same opponent just 49 days previously.

But Mbwana Samtta headed them back into it four minutes before the break and from that point Villa were always in the game.

After this defeat, their fourth in succession in a major Wembley final, attention will now turn to their ongoing battle with relegation battle.

Smith must demand the same kind of spirit seen here the rest of the way.

The boss had threatened to make changes in the wake of the previous weekend’s defeat at Southampton.

In the end he made three, including a change in goal where Orjan Nyland, in many respects the hero of the semi-final win over Leicester, replaced Pepe Reina.

There was also a recall for Ahmed Elmohamady as Smith ditched the three at the back formation utilised since the New Year’s Day victory at Burnley, reverting to a back four.

Elmohamady actually lined up on the right wing, with the other change seeing Engels return in defence in place of Ezri Konsa. Kortney Hause missed out on the 18-man squad altogether.

City’s line-up included Phil Foden in midfield, with Guardiola choosing to leave Kevin De Bruyne on the bench following the Belgium international’s heroics against Real Madrid in midweek.

Villa needed to start strongly and did so, arguably causing Guardiola’s team more problems in the first nine minutes than they did in the entire 90 when the teams met back in January.

They might have taken the lead inside three minutes. But El Ghazi was unable to keep his header from Elmohamady’s right wing cross down, the ball flying a foot or so over the bar, as the two players who combined to open the scoring in last season’s play-off final came close to repeating the trick.

Fernandinho also needed to be alert to block a low El Ghazi cross from the left as City struggled to find their tempo in the early minutes.

Yet once they had hit their stride, Guardiola’s men began to look more dangerous with each attack.

Aguero had already sent one header over the bar, when under unintended pressure from team-mate Stones, before breaking the deadlock on 20 minutes.

Rodri’s lofted ball out to the right found Foden in acres of space and his header back across goal was fired home by Aguero, the first-time finish hitting the bottom of Tyrone Mings’ boot on its way past Nyland.

Villa looked for a quick response and El Ghazi shot straight at Bravo, after finding space on the edge of the box.

But City were now on top and their second goal did not come as a huge surprise, despite the controversy surrounding it.

With his team defending doggedly, Grealish threw himself in front of Gundogan’s cross, the ball flying back and hitting the City man before going out of play.

The award of a corner was clearly wrong, though in truth there could be no excuses over Villa’s failure to properly defend it. Gundogan swung in the centre and Rodri was afforded close to a free header to power beyond Nyland and double the advantage.

Smith’s team looked in big trouble then and City came close to bagging a third, Mings hurling himself in the way of a fearsome Sterling effort. Foden also saw a deflected shot fly just wide of the far post.

Villa needed a spark and four minutes before the break Samatta delivered it, with a little thanks to Stones.

The England international’s slip allowed El Ghazi to deliver a looping cross from which Samatta powered a header beyond Bravo, to send the Villa half of Wembley exploding back into life.

It was the first goal ever scored by a Tanzanian at Wembley. It was also the first time a Pep Guardiola team had seen their defence breached in a final since Wayne Rooney scored for Manchester United against Barcelona in the 2011 Champions League showpiece.

It meant Villa reached half-time very much back in the game, though Foden nearly put them out of it again early in the second half with a bouncing shot which flew just past the post.

Guardiola introduced De Bruyne just prior to the hour mark and his first contribution was to fall over the ball, must to the amusement of Villa’s support.

It was their team who were very much on the back foot, however, Mings sliding in to clear a dangerous De Bruyne cross.

Villa’s attacks were fleeting though each was greeted with tremendous noise. Elmohamady crossed from the right and Samatta got a touch, the ball just evading the run of El Ghazi at the far post.

Smith introduced Conor Hourihane and Trezeguet off the bench but it was Nyland who made the next save, denying Rodri a second when he pushed the midfielder’s header round the post, after Villa had again struggled to defend a corner.

City were now piling on the pressure as they looked to kill the match off. Nyland almost handed them a third when he fumbled a cross at the feet of Sterling before recovering with the help of Mings.

Aguero then sent a volley shot into the side-netting, with half of the City crowd thinking it had gone the right side of the post.

Villa just needed one chance and with less than three minutes remaining it was inches from arriving. Grealish won a corner, Hourihane swung it in and Bravo somehow kept out Engels’ header, pushing it onto the post.

Nyland denied Bernardo Silva with his legs but the match finished with Villa on the attack. The moment they were hoping for just never arrived as time ran out.

Teams

Villa (4-5-1): Nyland, Guilbert, Engels, Mings, Targett, Elmohamady (Trezeguet 70), Nakamba, Grealish (c), Luiz, El Ghazi (Hourihane 70), Samatta (Davis 79) Subs not used: Taylor, Lansbury, Konsa, Reina (gk).

Man City (4-2-3-1): Bravo, Walker, Stones, Fernandinho, Zinchenko, Gundogan (De Bruyne 58), Rodrigo, Foden, Silva D © (Silva B 76), Sterling, Aguero (Jesus 83) Subs not used: Mendy, Mahrez, Otamendi, Ederson (gk).