And that, my good friends, is your lot. Peter Lansley was our man at the match, and his report is here. Congratulations to Manchester City on reaching their seventh League Cup final; commiserations to Burton Albion, though take nothing away from their wonderful run to the semis, and the way they bounced back from despair to give a great account of themselves tonight. Thanks for reading; sweet dreams, wherever you are!
And now Cloughie Jr. gives his verdict. “We came very close a couple of times, I’m very pleased with the way we played tonight and went about it. We got a bit of pride back. We showed a lot of spirit, some good youngsters as well. I thought we pressed them and did everything we could tonight. The pressure was off, of course, with the tie being over. But we put in a good performance against some top, top players. We were brave and caused them problems. I watched their last couple of Premier League games against Wolves and Huddersfield and I thought we caused them as many problems as they did. As a club, it’s been an incredible experience just to reach the last four. As a team, especially for the youngsters, it’s been incredible to be on the same pitch as those magnificent players. We take an awful lot from it, the experience and the glory of reaching the semi. Hopefully we’ve made a bit of money too. I can’t wait for Bradford on Saturday!”
Pep speaks! “We worked very well. The pitch was so dangerous and slippery. But we make a good game. I am a little disappointed with our finishing, but we were good. Burton had also a couple of clear chances, and were outstanding. But we are in the final, that is what is important. I didn’t see a lack of desire, we played seriously, and we have no injuries. I am not thinking about Chelsea or Tottenham, they are both incredible teams. The important thing is again, one more year we are there.”
A charming post-match interview with 18-year-old Ian Carlo Poveda. He’s a little nervous, but his joy at making his Manchester City debut tonight is infectious. “I am buzzing,” he begins, smiling shyly. “I’m just grateful for the opportunity, I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and my friends, and the fans also.” He’s asked what it was like to play alongside the likes of Aguero and De Bruyne. “I’m just speechless to be honest, it’s an amazing feeling, I have dreamt of this.” An evening to remember for the young man.
So City will play either Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur in the Wembley final on February 24. We always knew this would be the case, after that first-leg rout, so there’s little in the way of the usual manic semi-final celebrations at the final whistle. Some muted clapping, and that’s about it. The managers Nigel Clough and Pep Guardiola shake hands warmly and share a smile, just as they did at the Etihad a fortnight ago. But this time Clough’s side have given a much better account of themselves. His players look understandably deflated, but they’ve restored much pride after the horrors of the first leg, and once the sting subsides, should feel pleased with their efforts tonight, a mid-table League One outfit holding the champions of England to a single goal.
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FULL TIME: Burton Albion 0-1 Manchester City (agg: 0-10)
... that’s the final whistle! City have reached their fourth League Cup final in six seasons! And Burton Albion have restored some pride with a staunch second-leg display.
90 min +2: Danilo whips the free kick over the wall. It’s straight at Collins, who tips over with ease. The corner comes to nothing, and ...
90 min +1: There will be two added minutes. In the first, McCrory races out of his own box and slams Jesus to the ground. A free kick, 25 yards out.
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90 min: Hutchinson shows Foden a clean pair of heels down the left. But just as Burton start to dream about the cross that leads to that precious consolation strike, Hutchinson takes a heavy touch and runs the ball out for a goal kick.
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88 min: Jesus dribbles into the Burton box in the style of Ricky Villa, but can’t finish his baroque ramble. His shot is smothered by Collins, and the resulting corner comes to nothing.
86 min: Nothing going on. Which explains why Kári Tulinius has started to concentrate on the pitchside advertising. “When I was a wee lad watching English football in Iceland, I would puzzle over the pitchside hoardings, trying to figure what the various exotic companies were selling. Pirelli Stadium is bringing me right back as I wonder what the heck Palletforce, Kestral and Russell are all about.” A timely email, because they’ve just this minute flashed up an ad for Don Amott caravans. Anyone who watched ATV back in the 70s and 80s will have enjoyed a Proustian rush.
84 min: Garcia slips over as City knock it back and forth around the back. Daniel nearly manages to latch onto a momentarily loose ball, but Garcia recovers just in time.
82 min: Harness is sent scampering into the City box down the right by Fox. He’s hassled by Mendy, then crashes into Muric, who has come out to smother. Harness wants a penalty kick, but that’s not forthcoming.
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81 min: City continue to hog the ball in the sterile fashion.
79 min: City stroke it around, keeping warm their only concern. Can they find the two goals that would give them the all-time League Cup aggregate victory? Or is the ten-goal semi-final record enough to sate their desires?
77 min: Boyce is replaced by Daniel. Both teams have now made all their substitutions.
76 min: Templeton ambles down the left, and has Hutchinson on the overlap. He eventually finds his team-mate with a pass, after plenty of faffing about, but at this point Hutchinson is offside. The pair analyse the move in the full and frank style.
74 min: It’s a couple of degrees below zero now, and the pitch is hardening up. Pretty passing is at a premium right now, the ball bobbling around quite a bit. Burton will be happy enough, as it ensures City can’t be their usual fluent selves.
72 min: Nmecha goes down in the Burton area, barged by Harness as he chases a Jesus pass down the inside-left channel. It was a good old-fashioned shoulder-charge, though, and the referee’s not interested in awarding a penalty kick.
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70 min: Burton come so close to that consolation! Sandler slips on the edge of his own box. Boyce steps into the area, but his heavy touch allows Muric to smother. The ball breaks to Miller, on the penalty spot. He slams low towards the goal, but Garcia is back on the line to spectacularly clear! Poor old Burton.
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69 min: Mahrez finds himself standing in the Burton D. He considers shooting, but instead slides a pass wide right for Danilo, who instantly looks for Jesus in the middle. His ball, neither cross nor shot, flashes out to the left of goal.
67 min: City make their final change of the night, Zinchenko making way for debutant Felix Nmecha.
65 min: Harness busies himself down the right, and nearly slips Miller free in the City box. But Garcia has read the danger well, stepping in to shield the ball out of play for a goal kick. Burton are giving it their all in pursuit of this consolation goal.
63 min: Aguero has had a very strange evening indeed: some awful control, that dreadful miss, and the game’s only goal. A clinically brilliant one at that. He’s had a good run out, though, and now he makes way for Jesus. Meanwhile de Bruyne, also working his way back from injury, is replaced by Mendy, returning from a spell out himself. This is all great news for City, several of their stars sharpening up just in time for the big run-in.
61 min: What a miss! Aguero backflicks deliciously down the left to send de Bruyne into space. De Bruyne then slides a pass down the channel to release Foden, who tears clear into the box, then cuts one back for Aguero. He can’t miss, but does, sending his first-time shot wide right from 12 yards under no pressure whatsoever! Replays show Foden was well offside, so it’s probably for the best.
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59 min: Templeton simmers down, and is again about his business, dribbling into the City box from the left again. But neither of his two attempts to cross low are any good, both blocked by his nemesis Danilo.
57 min: Templeton continues to argue the toss, chuntering on at whoever will listen as play continues. It still means something, ten goals down or not.
55 min: Templeton dribbles into the City box from the left and springs over Danilo’s leg. He’s livid. He’s after a penalty kick. But there was no contact, and Danilo did nothing wrong. The VAR folk - apparently working from a van in the car park, a pimped version of Andy Townsend’s old truck, perhaps? - double check, and we play on.
54 min: Danilo makes space on the right and swings a low cross to the near post, where Delph must surely score. But he takes a fresh-air swipe at the ball, which then bounces back towards him off Collins, offering a second bite at the cherry. He clanks that one out of play, wide right, for a goal kick. It should have been City’s 11th goal of the tie. Hey, if you’re going to miss a sitter, now’s the time to do it.
53 min: Foden probes down the City left; Mahrez has a go out on the right. Neither can work a clear route into the box.
51 min: Aguero dribbles down the right. He’s stopped by Wallace, who in turn is slide-tackled by ... his own man, McCrory. Burton continue to give it their all despite the ludicrous scoreline, which is very much to their credit.
49 min: Garcia slips on the frosty turf and very nearly allows Boyce to race clear on goal. He does very well to recover and hack away from danger.
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47 min: Mahrez glides in from the right but can’t release himself into the box with a one-two with Aguero. City will be in something of a rush themselves, needing two more goals to register the biggest aggregate win in all League Cup history.
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45 min 21 sec. Burton have clearly come out with a flea in their ear, ordered to pick up the pace in search of this elusive consolation goal. They snap into a couple of challenges, and suddenly Templeton has possession 25 yards out. He creams a fine shot just over the bar. No time to waste.
Here we go again! Burton get the second half underway, having replaced Quinn with Fox.
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Burton Albion 0-1 Manchester City (agg: 0-10)
Burton were four down at half-time a fortnight ago, so this is a most acceptable improvement. The home side will be relatively pleased with their efforts so far ... but what they’d give for a consolation goal in the second half, even if they end up shipping a few more themselves. Don’t go anywhere!
45 min: Both teams appear to be waiting for the half-time whistle. Not much going on. They’ll get their wish in two minutes.
43 min: Harness comes again down the right and whips a cross to the near post. But there’s nobody in yellow there, and Garcia is able to clear calmly.
42 min: De Bruyne hesitates 30 yards from his own goal and has his pocket picked by Harness. For a second, City are exposed, but de Bruyne ensures Harness can’t have a clear run on goal, making up for his mistake and putting a stop to Burton’s gallop.
40 min: Turner’s race is run. The big centre-half has picked up an injury, and he limps off sadly, to be replaced by Hutchinson.
38 min: Boyce is sent zipping clear down the inside left by a lovely Templeton defence-splitter, but Muric is out of his box quickly to batter clear.
36 min: De Bruyne loops the set piece to the far post, where Garcia should either score or roll a pass back across goal to invite a tap-in. He does neither, allowing Collins to claim. In the crowd, a clear “fackinell” pierces the white noise, life imitating the art of Father Ted.
35 min: Aguero drops a shoulder to nip past McFadzean, and is clipped to the floor for his trouble. A free kick out on the right.
33 min: Foden comes straight through the back of Templeton, and should really go in the book. It wasn’t a good challenge. But the referee’s in a lenient mood.
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32 min: Zinchenko is sent scampering free down the left by Poveda. His low cross is trapped by Aguero on the penalty spot, but before he can shoot and surely score, the flag goes up for offside. Zinchenko had mistimed his run by a nanosecond.
31 min: City knock it around in a professional manner. They’re in complete control. “How’s the atmosphere at the Pirelli Stadium?” wonders Ian Sargeant, setting himself up for a tyre-related zinger. “If a little flat, the DJ should play Goodyear For The Roses to fit with a melancholy mood.”
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29 min: It would be lovely to see Burton grab a consolation at some point. With this in mind, Miller takes up possession 25 yards out, down the inside-left channel, and tries to curl one into the top right. It’s high and wide, but not so far off target that Muric wasn’t momentarily concerned.
28 min: As things stand, this is now the biggest aggregate scoreline in a League Cup semi, beating the 9-0 rattled up by City against West Ham five years ago.
GOAL! Burton Albion 0-1 Manchester City (Aguero 26); agg 0-10
You just knew this would happen. Aguero hasn’t been at the races, so of course now he opens the scoring. De Bruyne, quarterbacking from deep, plays a glorious defence splitter down the inside right. Mahrez dribbles into the box, waits for Aguero to arrive on the penalty spot, and tees his team-mate up. Aguero sends a crisp finish into the bottom left, Collins with no chance. You can’t keep a goalscoring genius quiet for too long.
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24 min: Good combinations between Aguero and Poveda down the left. Suddenly they flick Zinchenko away. He crosses to nobody in particular, and that’s easy meat for McFadzean.
22 min: Aguero’s cold start continues. First he kicks a huge divot out of the turf as he skedaddles down the inside-right, scuppering his hopes of getting a shot on goal. Then he tries to bring down Delph’s crossfield pass on the left, but lets that roll off his boot and out of play. The home crowd taunt him on both occasions, which let’s face it is asking for trouble. Nevertheless, it’s been an undistinguished first 22 minutes for a very distinguished player.
20 min: Zinchenko is brushed off the ball by Harness, who looks for a split second clear down the right. But the City man battles hard to snaffle possession back.
18 min: Mahrez swans in from the right, unchallenged, and pearls a glorious effort towards the top left. The ball flies millimetres wide of its intended target. That would have been a very handsome goal, even if McCrory’s defending wasn’t up to much.
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16 min: Burton will be happy enough with this start. City have only carved out one opportunity so far, despite hogging the ball. It’s all relative: City’s team cost 317 times more than Burton’s.
14 min: Quinn whips the free kick low and hard into the City box from the right. Boyce attempts a cute flick, helping it on towards the bottom left. But Muric is down to smother easily enough. Close, though. And that’s two good chances in a minute. In a parallel universe, this game is already 1-1, and Burton have their precious consolation goal.
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13 min: Boyce bowls down the right, capitalising on a loose pass from Delph. He’s brought down by the same player, who was desperately trying to recover the ground he’d given up, and that’s a free kick in a dangerous position for the hosts.
12 min: City’s first shot in anger, as McCrory makes a balls of Delph’s lob down the inside-right channel. His air kick allows the busy Mahrez to ghost in behind, and his fierce first-time shot from a tight angle flashes across Collins but inches wide of the bottom-left corner.
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11 min: Poveda and Delph take turns to probe down the left. Akins and McFadzean take turns to hold them up. City are dominating in terms of possession and territory, as you’d expect. “Pirelli Stadium? Nice name. Too bad Burton’s wheels fell off in the first leg.” Peter Oh, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the artisan ale.
9 min: More space for Mahrez, who scoops a pass from right to left for Aguero. City’s captain for the night completes an early triptych of uncharacteristically poor control as he scuffs a weak first-time shot towards Collins. His boots will warm up soon enough, you can be sure of it.
7 min: Danilo sashays in from the right and tees up Aguero, 25 yards out. Aguero tries to slip a pass towards Mahrez instead of shooting, but it goes all wrong. That’s his second touch of the evening; his first ballooned off his shin a couple of minutes ago. Even the greats aren’t perfect.
5 min: City make it into the Burton box for the first time this evening, Mahrez twisting and turning down the right. He dinks one into the middle for Aguero, but Turner is well positioned and clears well.
4 min: City’s young stars continue to knock it about stylishly. Sandler and Garcia are striding around like they’ve spent years together as City’s centre-back pairing. Full of confidence. Burton can’t get a sniff right now.
2 min: City spend the majority of the opening period stroking the ball about in the calm and considered style.
And we’re off! City get the ball rolling. A reminder that should the aggregate score be level after 90 minu... ah let’s not rub it in. Both sets of fans are giving it their all; here’s to an entertaining second leg.
The teams are out! Burton sport their yellow shirts, which in theory allows Manchester City to wear their first-choice sky blue. But folk don’t roll like that these days, do they, so third-choice purple with orange sash it is. There’s a cracking atmosphere at the Pirelli Stadium. We’ll be off before you know it!
Pep meanwhile doesn’t appear to be letting up, even if his team are nine up and he’s playing some of the kids. “We are going to try to win the game of course. We spoke about what we have to do to attack them in the best way. Poveda is a winger, so aggressive, he’s a brave guy. It’s a good test for him to play tonight.”
Nigel Clough speaks! “It’s a huge night, the semi-final of the Carabao Cup. If we get here again in our lifetime it’ll be incredible, so it’s one to be enjoyed at this stage. When you look around it’s just remarkable that we’re here, and not one of the Premier League or Championship clubs. I think we can enjoy it; I hope so. We might not enjoy it so much tonight, if their players start knocking it around as we know they can! But when we look back at it with the children, we should be proud that we’ve been on the same pitch as some of these players. We’d love to score a goal if we can, that would be a major success!”
Winter in Staffordshire. It’s cold. So cold they’ve had the covers on all day to make sure the pitch doesn’t freeze over. Players and fans alike are wandering around with bobble hats pulled tightly over their heads. Meanwhile Pep Guardiola, a man used to the subtropical climate of Catalunya, is forced into this snood, the like of which hasn’t been seen since the chart-bothering glory days of Nik Kershaw.
Burton may be nine goals adrift going into tonight’s second leg, but that doesn’t mean their supporters aren’t going to enjoy themselves. Our man Jamie Jackson has been out, and furthermore about, meeting the Albion faithful. This lovely piece is the result.
Burton make six changes to the side that scraped a last-minute draw at Doncaster on Saturday. Out go John Brayford, Jake Buxton, Reece Hutchinson, Jamie Allen, Scott Fraser and Josh Clarke; in come Kyle McFadzean, Ben Turner, David Templeton, Damien McCrory, Will Miller and Kieran Wallace.
Manchester City also make a truckload of changes, in the wake of their easy win at Huddersfield on Sunday. Eight in all, with plenty of the kids getting a taste of a big-match occasion. The 18-year-old winger Ian Carlo Poveda makes his debut. But there are some star names in the mix too: Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Fabian Delph all get a run-out. And Benjamin Mendy comes back from injury to take a place on the bench.
The teams
Burton Albion: Collins, Akins, McFadzean, Turner, McCrory, Quinn, Wallace, Harness, Miller, Templeton, Boyce.
Subs: Bywater, Brayford, Buxton, Sbarra, Fox, Hutchinson, Daniel.
Manchester City: Muric, Danilo, Sandler, Garcia, Zinchenko, De Bruyne, Delph, Foden, Mahrez, Aguero, Poveda.
Subs: Nmecha, Stones, Mendy, Grimshaw, Gabriel Jesus, Bolton, Richards.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).
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Preamble
Burton Albion weren’t the first team to be thrashed senseless in the semi-finals of the League Cup by Manchester City; chances are they won’t be the last. But this is the here and now, and after that nine-goal tonking in the first leg at the Etihad, the Brewers will desperately be hoping to avoid a second humiliation in 14 days. So there is a little something riding on tonight’s match: the small matter of pride, and staying if at all possible out of the record books.
The biggest aggregate win in a League Cup semi is 9-0, so Burton need at least a draw tonight in order to avoid obliterating that one. A tall order, though should City win tonight as expected, Burton can console themselves with the fact that everything is relative: the current record, already held by City, came after 6-0 and 3-0 pastings of West Ham United in 2014. West Ham were a fellow Premier League concern; at least Albion have the excuse of plying their trade a couple of divisions down.
And by limiting City to nine, they made sure they didn’t join Bury and Fulham in the ultimate League Cup hall of double-digit shame. The Shakers lost 10-0 at West Ham in October 1983, while the Cottagers were beaten by the exact same scoreline at Liverpool in September 1986. Burton should take succour from the results of the other legs in both of those second-round maulings from yesteryear: Bury lost 2-1, Fulham went down 3-2. Not ideal either, but one strongly suspects the Brewers won’t be too unhappy if they escape tonight with a similar damage-limiting, face-saving defeat.
Or would they? Do they fancy their chances of pulling off a valedictory shock as they take their leave of this season’s League Cup? You never know, with quadruple-chasing City planning to load their team with nippers and reserves. The first leg thrashing has made it easy to forget how brilliant Burton have otherwise been in this year’s competition, seeing off the likes of Burnley, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough. Can they somehow end on an unlikely high note? Or will City hand out another lesson? It’ll be fun finding out, even if it won’t be tense and we won’t be going to extra time and penalties. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm GMT.
