Manchester City came out on top in penalties (4-3) after a highly entertaining yet goalless 120 minutes of football. Both teams had several opportunities to win the tie in regulation time, but it was night of missed opportunities from both ends. A late bust-up between Maurizio Sarri and custodian Kepa Arrizabalaga showed the current state at Stamford Bridge but eventually, it was Guardiola’s men who got the better of their counterparts once again and bagged consecutive Carabao Cups.
Eden hazard once again proved his worth
The Belgian was absolutely phenomenal on the night for the Blues. He kept the Manchester City defenders on their toes and was a huge threat for Pep Guardiola’s side throughout the 120 mins of play. The citizens will consider themselves very lucky to get away with few of the chances which came Hazard’s way. Only the magic scoring boot was missing for the 28-year old as he once again proved why Real Madrid is after his signature for some time now. He was a true leader on the field and also his Panenka penalty speaks volumes about his presence of mind and quality. After all, that effort truly didn’t deserve to end on the losing side.
Manchester City’s attack lacked the cutting edge today
This side under Pep Guardiola scored six goals past Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea when they met at the Premier League fixture. However this time the Italian chalked out his formation to counter the attack movements of the City player. Sarri was highly successful with his efforts and the City attackers were also poor at times. Sergio Aguero and company who are always on the mood to capitalise on the chances had a rare off day as they had all the chances to put the game to bed in the regulation time. Although Manchester City eventually bagged the Carabao Cup, Guardiola should pay extra attention to his team’s attacking movements and decision making in the final third along with finishing. The Citizens were anything but clinical in front of goal on the night.
Kepa Arrizabalaga and Maurizio Sarri bust up proves the internal affairs of the club is in doldrums
The former Athletic Bilbao goalkeeper and the club record signing simply refused to listen to his manager, Maurizio Sarrio on being asked to come off for second choice custodian Willy Caballero. It was live evidence that internal matters at the Stamford Bridge is not in good state and that is clearly reflected on the performances of the players. Sarri time and again came upon various post-match press conferences after a humiliating defeat and have blamed his players out in front of media. The Players are not happy with him at the moment and everything leads up to Sarri’s exit from Chelsea which is an obvious fact after the loss. Even Kepa’s attitude was highly unprofessional and totally unjust, considering Caballero has a knack of bailing his team out in the penalties multiples time. A player must obey his manager’s order and what Kepa did at the dying embers of the regulation time was totally unacceptable and is a testament of the current state of Chelsea football club.
