Manchester City, under Pep Guardiola, were crowned champions of the League Cup after defeating Arsenal's Mikel Arteta 2-0 this Sunday, thanks to a brace from Nico O'Reilly, both in the second half. The Santpedor coach, who wins his fifth League Cup as a 'Citizens' manager, got the better of Mikel Arteta, who leads the Premier League with his team and had never lost at Wembley in his previous eight matches as a player and manager. This allows the team to get back on track after being eliminated in the Champions League round of 16 by Real Madrid and being second in the domestic league, nine points behind the 'Gunners'. After the first 45 minutes with few chances, Manchester City stepped up their game and were determined to win the trophy in the second half, taking the lead in the 60th minute. O'Reilly, who had been a doubt due to discomfort, became the man of the match by scoring two goals in five minutes that tipped the balance in his team's favor. The first goal came after a major error by Kepa Arrizabalaga, who failed to hold a cross from Rayan Cherki, leaving the ball dead in the six-yard box for the English full-back to head in the opening goal of the game. Four minutes later, while Arteta's players were still digesting the blow, another attack down the left flank ended in a precise cross from Mateus Nunes, which was once again converted by O'Reilly into the net. From that moment on, the 'Citizens' managed to secure their lead and became champions of the competition five years later. The match, with a full and passionate stadium, could have had a completely different story. When only seven minutes had passed, the 'Gunners' came close to scoring three times in the same move. A through-ball from Martin Zubimendi allowed Kai Havertz to be one-on-one with James Trafford, the League Cup's starting goalkeeper, who managed to save the German's shot and the subsequent rebounds from Bukayo Saka. The pace was very slow for both teams, which felt the great effort they had made in the Champions League during the week, and they sought to have the ball and build long possessions, but were not accurate with the final pass. Both Arsenal and Manchester City were well aware that any mistake could condemn them, and therefore, they avoided taking risks with the ball. On the wings, the visitors Antoine Semenyo and Jérémy Doku managed to get past their markers, but the support from William Saliba and Gabriel was fundamental to preventing any dangerous action. In turn, Arsenal could not connect with Viktor Gyokeres as the London club's attacking reference was closely watched by Abdukodir Khusanov and Nathan Aké, who started due to the last-minute injury of Ruben Dias. The only chances for both teams before the break were a header from Piero Hincapié that went over the bar and another from Erling Haaland that went wide. After the restart, when neither coach made changes, Manchester City came out much better and won all the duels, helped by the push from the stands who encouraged their own. The visitors controlled possession, won the ball in the opponent's half, but did not manage to threaten the opposing goal until the 60th minute. At that moment, a good cross from Cherki that Kepa could not hold was taken advantage of by O'Reilly, who opened the score and dealt the first of two blows in the duel. Arsenal could not recover from the impact and was left out of the match after another goal from the young Englishman. The 21-year-old full-back then connected a brilliant header from a Matheus Nunes cross to increase his team's lead. Arteta's men did not give up and went all out in attack, but hit the post twice and left empty-handed. Riccardo Calafiori, who had previously forced Trafford into action, sent the ball against the post with a powerful shot, and minutes later Gabriel Jesus hit the crossbar. From that moment on, Pep Guardiola's team controlled the match and maintained their lead to achieve a victory much celebrated by the fans, coaching staff, and players.
