JAKARTA - Manchester City challenged Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League Cup final after defeating city rivals Manchester United 2-0 in the semifinal match at Old Trafford Stadium, Wednesday local time (Thursday WIB).
The hosts threatened first with Bruno Fernandes' long-range strike after just nine minutes, but goalkeeper Zack Steffen pulled off a brilliant save to brush it off.
Four minutes later, City were on the edge of the game and Kevin de Bruyne almost put them in front, if only his shot beyond goalkeeper Dean Henderson was not deflected by the post.
The two teams continued to attack each other, but the zero score lasted until halftime.
Five minutes into the second half, John Stones broke the deadlock to put City ahead when he met Phil Foden's free-kick with his thigh that tricked Henderson.
Referee Martin Atkinson briefly consulted over the alleged offside before finally conceding the Stones goal.
The goal made the flow of the match almost completely changed and City continued to try to double their lead until their hard work finally paid off seven minutes from normal time.
United's defense failed to anticipate a corner when Aaron Wan-Bissaka's header was enough to sweep the ball out of the box, where Fernandinho met with a volley without giving Henderson a chance to react.
MU could not do much to change the situation and the 2-0 score for City lasted until the whistle sounded the match, ensuring the Citizens' move back to the final to defend their Premier League Cup trophy.
City will appear in their eighth final against Tottenham, Antara notes on the official EFL website.
If they win, City can match Liverpool's record as the owner of the most Premier League Cup trophies with a score of eight championships.
The League Cup final is scheduled to take place on April 25 at Wembley.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
