Manchester City won their third Carabao Cup final in-a-row, thanks to first half goals from Sergio Aguero and Rodri, as they beat Aston Villa 2-1.
Pep Guardiola's side might be 22 points behind league leaders Liverpool but City have continued to crave domestic dominance by winning every trophy they can.
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On Sunday they started without Ederson, Aymeric Laporte or Kevin de Bruyne but still got off to a good start as Sergio Aguero put them 1-0 up after just 20 minutes.
There were fears that the game might have gone a similar way to the FA Cup final win against Watford last May when it was 2-0 on the half hour mark.
The Premier League champions were rather fortunate to double the lead when the ball clearly came off Ilkay Gundogan before going off but the assistant referee gave a corner.
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Villa failed to defend the resulting set piece and Rodri doubled the lead as it looked like it would be a pretty easy afternoon for the holders.
However City never managed to run away with the game and Dean Smith's side found themselves right back in the game before halftime.
John Stones slip allowed Anwar El Ghazi, who had missed a great chance at 0-0, to get to the byline and cross in for Mbwana Samatta who headed magnificently home to make it 2-1.
The second half was an altogether less dramatic affair, until the last few minutes, as City continued to dominate possession and create chances whilst Villa hoped to keep them at bay and catch them on the counter.
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Such is the disparity in the two sides that Guardiola was able to bring on De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus, a trio of world class players, to see out the match.
With just three minutes left of normal time Claudio Bravo made a magnificent save from Bjorn Engels as he pushed defender's header from a corner onto the post, as Villa searched in vain for an equaliser.
The Villains put pressure on the champions towards the end of the game, even sending the keeper up for a corner late in injury time, and their performance suggested they're better than being in a relegation dogfight in the league.
The win for City secured Guardiola's eighth pieces of silverware since taking over at the Etihad Stadium and means they've won eight of the last nine domestic trophies on offer, with the Community Shield included.
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Whilst Liverpool will walk away from the season as Premier League champions, City will still be looking to add a cup treble to their domestic treble of last season.
The Citizens face Sheffield Wednesday in the 5th Round of the FA Cup on Wednesday and are 2-1 up in the last 16 of the Champions League against Real Madrid after the first leg.
Will City win any more silverware this season?
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester City, Rodri, Carabao Cup, Aston Villa, Sergio Aguero, Pep Guardiola, Premier League, England, John Stones
