Manchester City retained the Carabao Cup with Aymeric Laporte's late header giving them a deserved 1-0 win over Tottenham.
City dominated the opening exchanges with Riyad Mahrez going close with two curling efforts, while Phil Foden was denied a certain goal by a heroic Toby Alderweireld block. Laporte could consider himself lucky to still be on the pitch as the teams went in for the break, with the Spaniard guilty of two cynical fouls - only one of which the referee deemed worthy of a yellow card.
LAPORTE HEADS CITY IN FRONT!
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 25, 2021
Aymeric Laporte beats Sissoko to De Bruyne's cross and nods it home. Will that be the winner? ?
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After the break things were more even, although City would again have the better chances, forcing Hugo Lloris into a couple of good saves. Nine minutes from the end the sky blue half of Wembley erupted when Laporte rose high to nod home Kevin De Bruyne's corner and ensure Pep Guardiola's side retained the Carabao Cup.
Here are your player ratings for both teams from Wembley Stadium...
Manchester City
1. Goalkeeper & Defenders
Zack Steffen (GK) - 6/10 - A quiet afternoon with Spurs having just two shots all game.
Kyle Walker (RB) - 7/10 - One or two defensive misjudgments but was mainly fine. His positioning made it hard for his former side to keep City out.
Ruben Dias (CB) - 7/10 - Close to flawless in possession. Dealt with most of what Spurs threw at him without too many problems.
Aymeric Laporte (CB) - 7/10 - Perhaps fortunate to not be sent off for two cynical fouls in the first half. This became even more controversial when he nodded home the winner.
Joao Cancelo (LB) - 7/10 - Played very high and wide, helping his side play out from the back. He asked questions of Spurs in the final third.
2. Midfielders
Ilkay Gundogan (CM) - 7/10 - Played slightly deeper but still popped up in the box on occasion. Neat and spritely, helping his side knit together their stylish attacks.
Fernandinho (CM) - 7/10 - Tidy and creative in possession. Seemed to tire as the game wore on.
Phil Foden (AM) - 7/10 - Always dangerous on the half turn. Popped up everywhere with his movement causing Spurs real problems.
3. Forwards
Riyad Mahrez (RW) - 8/10 - Made Reguilon look a right cart horse. Always dangerous and went close with some efforts from range.
Kevin De Bruyne (ST) - 7/10 - A nominal striker, he dropped deep and pulled the strings effectively. Assisted Laporte for the goal.
Raheem Sterling (LW) - 6/10 - Always looking to try something but his finishing was not great.
4. Substitutes
Rodri - N/A
Bernardo Silva - N/A
Tottenham
5. Goalkeeper & Defenders
Hugo Lloris (GK) - 7/10 - Confident when collecting loose balls. Made a couple of great saves. Unfortunate for the goal.
Serge Aurier (RB) - 6/10 - Did well to limit Sterling's influence but gave a soft free kick away leading to the goal.Finished the game with five tackles.
Toby Alderweireld (CB) - 7/10 - Made a vital block to deny Foden an opening goal. His passing was often wayward, but that was largely due to nobody offering feet in midfield.
Eric Dier (CB) - 6/10 - A few important interventions. Struggled to get a handle on City's interchanging forwards.
Sergio Reguilon (LB) - 4/10 - Poor. Made several basic errors and did little to stop the Mahrez show. Offered little going forward.
6. Midfielders
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (CM) - 5/10 - Full of industry but City sometimes gave him the run around. Unfortunate that Spurs' best chance of the game fell to him.
Harry Winks (CM) - 5/10 - Chasing shadows for much of the game. His selection from the start was a strange one after so long on the sidelines.
Giovani Lo Celso (CM) - 6/10 - Helped Spurs' relive pressure by starting off counter-attacks with clever flicks and feints. Harsh to be substituted.
7. Forwards
Lucas Moura (RW) - 7/10 - Good in transition, drawing several fouls and making the most of his slender opportunities.
Harry Kane (ST) - 4/10 - Completely withdrawn in the first half, touching it just nine times. Not a great deal of improvement thereafter.
Son Heung-min (LW) - 5/10 - Fairly ineffective throughout proceedings. Maybe he really did love Mourinho?
8. Substitutes
Gareth Bale - 5/10 - Did nothing after coming on.
Moussa Sissoko - 5/10 - As above.
Source: 90min
