MANCHESTER CITY RETAINED the Carabao Cup with a 4-3 penalty shoot-out win against Chelsea at Wembley, but the real story came minutes before the end of extra-time as Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri was humiliated in an on-field dispute with his goalkeeper Kepa.
Having made a routine save from Sergio Aguero, the goalkeeper pulled up with cramp for a second time, to which Sarri reacted by instructing back-up ‘keeper Willy Caballero to warm up.
Kepa, however, refused to come off, and a remarkable two-and-a-half minute stand-off ensued with a visibly furious Sarri threatening to walk away down the tunnel before turning back at the last moment.
😳 - Have you EVER seen anything like it!?
Maurizio Sarri tries to substitute Kepa Arrizabalaga for Willy Caballero, but Kepa refuses to come off and Sarri is absolutely FURIOUS! 😡 pic.twitter.com/Q81v6ry3Kk
The dispute continued to roil before the penalty shoot-out, with Sarri held back by Antonio Rudiger as he tried to confront Kepa.
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Kepa saved one penalty in the shoot-out, but should have kept out a second, weakly allowing Sergio Aguero’s spot-kick to slip through his arms.
The game finished goalless after a largely turgid 120 minutes, with the disallowing of a Sergio Aguero goal for offside the acme of the goalmouth action.
Following a 6-0 shellacking at City a fortnight ago, Sarri tweaked his approach somewhat, with Gonzalo Higuain dropped and Eden Hazard reverting to a false nine role.
A controversial start saw Jorginho escape punishment after appearing to elbow Sergio Aguero straight from kick-off before referee Jon Moss gave no foul when Oleksandr Zinchenko’s challenge halted the progress of N’Golo Kante as the midfielder ran through on the City goal.
City began to find their rhythm and Sergio Aguero rifled a shot over the crossbar before his deflected effort was easily claimed by Kepa.
Kante should have broken the deadlock for Chelsea, but after Hazard’s dazzling run deceived City’s half-time substitute Vincent Kompany, he blazed the perfect cutback over the crossbar. Aguero and Sterling could not find a finishing touch in an extra-time goalmouth scramble before City’s record goalscorer was denied by Kepa.
Kepa’s subsequent denial of Sarri’s demands, however, will dominate the news cycle for the next couple of days.
Pep Guardiola spoke after the game of his joy at retaining a major trophy for the first time in the club’s history, although sounded a note of warning regarding the games ahead, as they lost both Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho to injury.
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Chelsea boss Sarri humiliated as his goalkeeper refuses to be substituted in League Cup final
MANCHESTER CITY RETAINED the Carabao Cup with a 4-3 penalty shoot-out win against Chelsea at Wembley, but the real story came minutes before the end of extra-time as Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri was humiliated in an on-field dispute with his goalkeeper Kepa.
Having made a routine save from Sergio Aguero, the goalkeeper pulled up with cramp for a second time, to which Sarri reacted by instructing back-up ‘keeper Willy Caballero to warm up.
Kepa, however, refused to come off, and a remarkable two-and-a-half minute stand-off ensued with a visibly furious Sarri threatening to walk away down the tunnel before turning back at the last moment.
The dispute continued to roil before the penalty shoot-out, with Sarri held back by Antonio Rudiger as he tried to confront Kepa.
Kepa saved one penalty in the shoot-out, but should have kept out a second, weakly allowing Sergio Aguero’s spot-kick to slip through his arms.
The game finished goalless after a largely turgid 120 minutes, with the disallowing of a Sergio Aguero goal for offside the acme of the goalmouth action.
Following a 6-0 shellacking at City a fortnight ago, Sarri tweaked his approach somewhat, with Gonzalo Higuain dropped and Eden Hazard reverting to a false nine role.
A controversial start saw Jorginho escape punishment after appearing to elbow Sergio Aguero straight from kick-off before referee Jon Moss gave no foul when Oleksandr Zinchenko’s challenge halted the progress of N’Golo Kante as the midfielder ran through on the City goal.
City began to find their rhythm and Sergio Aguero rifled a shot over the crossbar before his deflected effort was easily claimed by Kepa.
Kante should have broken the deadlock for Chelsea, but after Hazard’s dazzling run deceived City’s half-time substitute Vincent Kompany, he blazed the perfect cutback over the crossbar. Aguero and Sterling could not find a finishing touch in an extra-time goalmouth scramble before City’s record goalscorer was denied by Kepa.
Kepa’s subsequent denial of Sarri’s demands, however, will dominate the news cycle for the next couple of days.
Pep Guardiola spoke after the game of his joy at retaining a major trophy for the first time in the club’s history, although sounded a note of warning regarding the games ahead, as they lost both Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho to injury.
Sarri, however, lost his authority.
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Chelsea Manchester City Maurizio Sarri no authority