City spot on for Cup glory
Print Edition
A WEEK after letting in five goals, Willy Caballero made three saves in a penalty shootout against Liverpool to help Manchester City win the League Cup on Sunday and claim its fifth major trophy since 2011.
Though the Argentine goalkeeper is second-choice behind Joe Hart in the Premier League and the Champions League, he has been a regular in the cup teams fielded by coach Manuel Pellegrini. And Pellegrini’s faith in the 34-year-old keeper was duly rewarded with a memorable display in the penalty shootout after the two sides had ground out a 1-1 draw after extra time at Wembley Stadium.
Caballero stood firm during the shootout, opting not to second-guess which way the Liverpool players would send their penalties. His decision paid dividends as the spot-kicks of Lucas Leiva, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana were all saved — and Yaya Toure went on score the final penalty to give City a 3-1 victory in the shootout.
Pellegrini held firm to his decision to give Caballero a final berth despite calls to catapult England’s No. 1, Hart, into the side to face Liverpool. “I prefer to lose the title than to lose my words,” Pellegrini said.
Pellegrini faced a barrage of criticism a week ago when he put out an under-strength side in a fifth round FA Cup tie against Chelsea. Caballero featured in the subsequent 1-5 defeat, which came before a crucial week that also saw City travel to Ukraine to meet Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League as well as the League Cup final against Liverpool.
Having won 3-1 against Kiev and defeated Liverpool, Pellegrini felt his team selection against Chelsea had been justified.
“I think that the decision I took last week was very important to win these two games,” he said after claiming his third trophy in his three-year tenure that is ending this summer.
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