Laporte wins City the League Cup on merit: Neil Humphreys
After a week dominated by closed-shop Super League, City offer a reminder of the importance of jeopardy
With eight minutes left to play, Aymeric Laporte rose highest in a crowded box and delivered a little rough justice.
For the second time in a week, Tottenham Hotspur learned that a club's elite status should never be bought, rigged or fixed. As always, pedigree must be earned only on the pitch.
| MANCHESTER CITY | TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR |
| 1 | 0 |
| (Aymeric Laporte 82) |
Manchester City did just that, winning a fascinating League Cup final 1-0 this morning (Singapore time) and hopefully resetting the game's sanity, for a while at least.
Competition prevailed. A sense of jeopardy felt omnipresent and, to be honest, it was all rather wonderful, like a palate cleanser after a stomach-churning week.
Let's not kid ourselves. The awkward involvement of two clubs that had essentially tried to detonate the very English Football League that the cup represents should be lost on no one.
A week ago, City and Spurs signed up for a tournament with no relegation, no jeopardy and no hope of competitions like the League Cup ever being the same.
And yet, a sunny spring encounter at Wembley demonstrated the value of two priceless commodities that the European Super League sought to destroy - legitimate competition and supporter power.
Suddenly, the League Cup final, so often the ugly cousin of English silverware, looked attractive and worthy. A trophy that actually meant something seemed to, well, mean something. Imagine that.
Of course, the fans have always mattered, a point lost on no one, except the owners of their clubs.
Early in the first half, the glorious cacophony of mocking Tottenham voices playfully taunting old boy Kyle Walker felt like the perfect protest to the greedy.
Football without fans isn't football. It's an empty vessel in search of something visceral and real.
Last week, the European Super League fiasco proved that money can't buy the love of the so-called legacy fans. And chastised billionaires must now learn that corporate bullying doesn't buy or enhance passion either.
The welcome presence of 8,000 fans at Wembley felt timely for so many reasons. First, the instinctive rhythms of their volume, tempo and intensity gave the occasion a regular heartbeat. The game felt alive again.
Second, international TV viewers actually want a human element, too, rather than glorified exhibitions played inside desolate venues, artificially pumped up with fake crowd noise.
And finally, the return of supporters was a rallying cry to the ignorant, arrogant owners who claim to operate in their name. Never underestimate their impact. Never assume the game is the same without them. And never ignore them again.
If anything, the 8,000 spectators used their audio to create a visual illusion. A decent game felt exhilarating and addictive.
Using his lofty managerial experience of a single game, rookie coach Ryan Mason settled on a 4-3-3 for Tottenham, which was mostly a 4-6-0, with a largely anonymous Harry Kane counting down the days until his inevitable transfer.
Son Heung-min probably shared similar thoughts, especially in the first half, when the South Korean rarely saw the ball.
City dominated possession, attacked in swarms and managed nine shots to Spurs' one in the opening 45 minutes.
The fact that the score remained goalless at the break suggested again that the undoubted brilliance of Phil Foden doesn't make him a natural striker, even a false one.
City utterly ruled the flanks in waves, through Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Joao Cancelo, but Pep Guardiola cut an increasingly frustrated figure on the touchline as his side's endless possession didn't translate into goals.
The irrepressible Mahrez, Fernandinho and Ilkay Guendogan all spurned decent opportunities. For all of Guardiola's attacking purity, an actual No. 9 might be of service to City in the future.
Extra-time looked inevitable until Laporte's intervention. Once he nodded in Kevin de Bruyne's free-kick in the 82nd minute, Tottenham's resistance was broken.
As City celebrate a fourth League Cup win a row, Spurs must accept that a place among the elite has to be won by brilliant footballers, rather than greedy billionaires.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now