Monday 26 February 2018 07:37, UK
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has dedicated his first trophy in English football to the club's owners and fans, claiming the 3-0 win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final has not come as a relief.
Guardiola saw his quadruple hopes end against Wigan in the FA Cup last Monday, but his side made the perfect response to that shock setback by cruising to victory at Wembley.
The Catalan picked up his first piece of silverware since joining City in the summer of 2016, having failed to win a trophy in his first season, but Guardiola refused to admit a sense of relief.
Guardiola told Sky Sports: "This is for Manchester City, it's not for me. It's important. There are titles more important than this one, but we're so happy.
"A big congratulations for all Manchester City, for Sheikh Mansour and Sheikh Khaldoon and the big bosses and a big congratulations for our fans."
When asked why he did not go up to receive the trophy and watch from the pitch instead, he added: "It's nice to see it from here, it's nicer.
"The first half was not good, a lot of mistakes in the simple passes but in the second half we played with more courage and personality. We played much better and were outstanding."
Sergio Aguero set the Premier League leaders on the way to victory with the opening goal straight from Claudio Bravo's goal- kick, with Guardiola describing the direct nature of the strike as being "part of football".
The result extends the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach's extraordinary record in cup finals as a manager, having now won 10 of the 11 showdowns across his time in Spain, Germany and England.
It is the fifth time in their history that City have won the League Cup - only Liverpool (8) have won it more often - and Guardiola stressed the importance of responding after the Wigan loss.
"It was so important to win this one after defeat in the FA Cup," he added. "We played 45 minutes 10 against 11, it's difficult. We played good but unfortunately we couldn't go through.
"Now we have to focus absolutely on the Premier League to win the games and also to arrive in the quarter-finals of the Champions League."
