Manchester City booked their place in the 2026 Carabao Cup final thanks to a 3-1 (5-1 on aggregate) victory over Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City were not at their fluent best as they managed to comfortably progress to the Carabao Cup final
Manchester City were not at their fluent best but they managed to comfortably progress to the Carabao Cup final(Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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Pep Guardiola's desperation speaks volumes when it comes to the case for his Manchester City defence. Guardiola is hopping mad that new signing Marc Guehi remains ineligible for the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal on March 22.
A little known rule has presented Guardiola with a big and well known problem. EFL rules were tweaked this season, which means players can turn out for two different teams in the competition in a single campaign. That meant Antoine Semenyo started both legs of City's semi-final against Newcastle United.
But because Guehi arrived at the Etihad in a potential £30m deal after the first leg, he was ruled out of the second one and subsequent showpiece final next month. The time restriction has come at a price for Guehi.
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But what could the cost be to Guardiola, in his quest to win a historic Quadruple this season at the expense of his rivals from north London? Guardiola is discovering that there are some things money just can't buy - like a place in his team for a major cup final, for arguably his best centre back.
City cruised past Newcastle in the two-legged semi-final. But while the scoreline suggests it was a mismatch, nothing could be further from the truth.
James Trafford was one of City's best players in both halves. The goalkeeper came in from the cold to produce a red hot performance.
He denied Joe Willock and Anthony Gordon with superb saves, while producing an even better one to keep out Sven Botman's header. After the break, Yoane Wissa missed a golden chance to score, while there was nothing Trafford could do to stop Anthony Elanga from netting a consolation goal for the visitors towards the end.
A combination of some fine goalkeeping and woeful finishing failed to expose a City defence which is still not functioning well enough to win big titles. Arsenal might not be scoring goals for fun this season, but still have more than enough guile and quality to punish Guardiola's back four.