Share

Guardiola reveals City injury fears after Wembley glory

London - Pep Guardiola fears Manchester City's League Cup final triumph against Chelsea could come at a heavy cost.

Guardiola's side retained the League Cup thanks to a dramatic 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory at Wembley on Sunday.

But City boss Guardiola is concerned that the clash, which finished 0-0 after extra-time, could have taken a toll on his squad after defender Aymeric Laporte and midfielder Fernandinho both suffered injuries.

With City just one point behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race and also chasing silverware in the Champions League and FA Cup, Guardiola knows his team need to be at full strength for the run-in.

"The only problem is we will miss a lot of important players for the next few weeks," Guardiola said.

"Being in four competitions is so demanding, so tough, we don't know where we're going to arrive.

"Laporte, Fernandinho are injured, but it's much better of course when you win."

City's third major trophy of Guardiola's three-season reign was a rollercoaster ride as they dominated the first half before surviving a late Chelsea assault in normal time.

Ederson made a crucial save in the shoot-out to deny Jorginho, but Leroy Sane's effort was saved for City before Chelsea's David Luiz hit the post.

It was Raheem Sterling who dispatched the winning kick to keep City on course for an unprecedented quadruple.

"With the penalties anything could happen but we were lucky," Guardiola said.

"We're happy to win back-to-back in this competition for the first time in our history.

"Chelsea have quality players. After the result two weeks ago (when City won 6-0) we knew this would be more difficult."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1818 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1778 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1084 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 461 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE