Goodbye Sarriball, hello Sarri-bore?
Chelsea showed a different face, an incredibly defensive one, but they couldn’t quite pip Manchester City in a Carabao Cup final that went all the way.
There were only three shots on target in 120 minutes of an intense and often absorbing encounter that completely lost its way in the drudgery of extra-time.
The flashpoint came at the end when a hobbled Kepa Arrizabalaga humiliated Maurizio Sarri by staying on the pitch despite Willy Caballero’s number being called.
The egg was on both Kepa and his manager as Sergio Aguero’s weak penalty slipped through his grasp, before City went on to lift the Carabao Cup by 4-3 in the shootout. Our City ratings are below …
MAN CITY (4-3-3)
Ederson – Could have got away with planting some flowers on the border of his box for all the goalmouth action he saw 6
Kyle Walker – Doesn’t have much ingenuity, either on the flank or tucking inside, when faced with such defensive-minded opposition. 5
Nicolas Otamendi – Superb tackle to keep his concentration and thwart Hazard during an ultra-rare Chelsea counterattack. 7
Aymeric Laporte – Saw the ball more than anyone in the first half, but found it difficult to part the deep blue sea of shirts. Off injured at half-time for Kompany. 6
Oleksandr Zinchenko – Even a team like City’s needs its fair share of dependables and Zinchenko – out of position really – rarely lets them down 6
Kevin De Bruyne – De Bruyne needed to be laser-accurate given how deep Chelsea sat back. He’s fully capable, but he’s not been up to it since his injury return. 4
Fernandinho – Uh-oh. Went off holding his groin, there is not a City player who can replicate what he does at the base of midfield 6
David Silva – Seemingly a tight game in which old, cool heads were needed. If anything showed his age in a non-descript display 5
Bernardo Silva – Had some real pep in his step in the first half but someone must have swept it from under his feet at half-time 6
Sergio Aguero – Wonderful finish that was offside by a hair’s breadth. Otherwise only noticeable for his blond hair, asphyxiated in the middle 5
Raheem Sterling – On the cusp of creation numerous times until a second Chelsea defender quickly scuttled across to help Azpilicueta. What a penalty to win it 7
SUBSTITUTES
Vincent Kompany (45′) – Always looked shaky at the prospect of a counter, luckily for him they were few and far between 5
Ilkay Gundogan (79′) – Summed up the futility of extra-time when he flung a corner-kick out of play 5
Leroy Sane (86′) – Could have counted the kicks he had on one hand – perhaps one finger – in the 30-plus minutes he was on the pitch. N/A
Danilo (90′) – Like-for-like swap with Fernandinho, because of injury. Was never going to inspire from there N/A
