The second leg between Manchester City and Aston Villa was at the Etihad stadium, where City took a 3-0 advantage from the 1st leg. Villa knew they would have a huge task to get back into the game and so would have to throw everything at their opponents.
Villa went on the offensive from the off, but their urgency to score not only left them vulnerable at the back, but they were making a lot of errors and losing the ball. City were happy to absorb the pressure and use passing play to get near Villa’s goal.
Villas lack of a strong defence soon caught them out as a hasty tackle gave away a simple penalty to City. The City forward stepped up and scored, which effectively sealed Villa’s fate. City were able to dominate the ball from this point and it did not take long for them to tee up a shot in the area and it was soon 2-0. Villa fans thought they may be heading for another 3-0 defeat or worse – although Villa remained strong, although they wasted plenty of chances in the City area. Near the final whistle and City gave away a free kick, as their players began to relax. Villa were desperate to get a goal on the scoresheet for their efforts and a simple pass from the free kick gave them exactly that.
The crowed roared when the referee blew for time and City win the tie 5-1 on aggregate. It is Manchester City’s first Cup final and they will be looking towards the second game to find out who their opponents will be.
The final match of the semi-finals was between rivals Liverpool and Arsenal. Liverpool had home advantage but Arsenal took a 1-0 lead into the tie. It was a close, but thrilling affair as both sides made a real push to make the final.
Liverpool had the majority of possession but it was Arsenal who came closest as they crashed a shot off the crossbar. Liverpool also had some good chances but the Arsenal keeper stayed strong. As the game approached the latter stages, it would seem that Arsenal would hold on, but eventually Liverpool found a way through to even the tie.
Neither side could find the back of the net, so the match would go into extra time. The crowd were tense as the match restarted as they know that one goal could be the route to the final. Within moments of the kick-off Liverpool put a great move together as they left Arsenal standing, as they went through to make it 2-0 on the night. The home crowd went wild as Liverpool now had the upper hand in the tie for the first time.
Arsenal were not going to give up their lead easily and soon after the restart they too found themselves with a good scoring chance. The attacker took his opportunity and there was a deflection of a Liverpool defender and suddenly it was all level again as the match score was 2-1. Despite both sides having more chances, the keepers were working hard and it appeared that penalties would be the only way to split these two sides.
With only seconds remaining Liverpool has the ball in Arsenals area. Arsenal went to clear the ball and it rebounded off the players and went off the pitch. Both players appealed for the ball but the referee awarded Liverpool a corner, much to Arsenals annoyance. Liverpool took a great corner and it came to a bunch of Liverpool players on the edge of the box. The Liverpool player smashed the ball hard and it went through the players and found the corner. Arsenal had mere seconds to respond but in the drama they could not get the ball into a shooting position and then time ran out.
Liverpool win the match 3-1 and win the semi-final 3-2 on aggregate. Liverpool will play Manchester City in the League Cup Final.