We look back on the greatest Final moments of the Club’s history…
10 Peter Barnes v Newcastle, 1976
The stuff of dreams…
An historic Cup Final goal, fittingly scored by a true Mancunian – and a City fan at that.
Peter Barnes’ opener against Newcastle in the 1976 showpiece saw the 19-year-old become the Blues’ youngest ever goalscorer at Wembley.
The winger – the son of former player, coach, assistant manager and scout Ken – broke the deadlock against the Magpies, converting fellow ‘Manc’ Mike Doyle’s header back across goal to hand the Blues an early advantage.
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Such was the youngster’s influence and admiration, Barnes went on to be voted the PFA’s Young Player of the Year.
More on how the game panned out later…
9 Claudio Bravo v Arsenal, 2018
Typically, goalkeepers are not famed for their creativity, particularly when it comes to Cup ties. Penalty shoot-out heroics or (more rarely) dramatic equalisers from late corners would tend to provide the narrative.
Bravo can certainly take credit for City’s clean sheet in the 2018 Final, especially for his superb double save to thwart Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang early on, but it was his awesome assist, which proved a major talking point of the clash.
Much had been discussed about Ederson’s exceptional vision and passing accuracy, but last February, it would be the Chilean – the Blues’ penalty hero in the previous rounds – who shone, smashing the ball upfield perfectly into Sergio Aguero’s path.
Naturally, the Argentine made no mistake with the finish, ensuring Bravo a famous Cup Final assist.
8 Mike Doyle v West Brom, 1970
The tenth League Cup Final saw City lock horns with West Brom, and the Blues (or Red and Black stripes, more aptly) could not have suffered a worse start, falling behind to a Jeff Astle goal after just five minutes.
Step forward: Ashton-born youth product and City fan Mike Doyle – the man who once claimed there were only two teams in Manchester: City and City Reserves!
The youngster drilled home on the half-volley from Colin Bell’s flick-on to send the game into extra-time. Needless to say, he enjoyed it!
So, how did it pan out…?
7 Glyn Pardoe v West Brom, 1970
Cue: extra-time at Wembley Stadium. Time for a hero – and that hero would prove to be Glyn Pardoe.
With 102 minutes on the clock, came the decisive moment. Francis Lee had done the hard work, creating a yard of space to dig out a cross for Bell. Once again, he helped the ball on and Pardoe was quickest to react, beating John Osborne to the ball and flicking it over the Baggies’ shot-stopper to clinch the tie!
6 Vincent Kompany v Arsenal, 2018
Cometh the hour, cometh the Captain…
Vincent Kompany has led City through the most difficult tests, and has performed under the most high-pressure situations, often proving the difference between success and failure.
It was fitting that the 2018 Carabao Cup Final goalscorers would herald from the Blues’ ‘old guard’ – Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Kompany.
The Belgian bagged our second goal of the afternoon to effectively kill the tie, diverting Ilkay Gundogan’s effort into the back of the net. Having missed much of the campaign through injury, my, how Kompany celebrated that strike – not with one trademark leap; with four… and a knee-slide, of course!
5 Samir Nasri v Sunderland, 2014
Two goals in quick succession always spark scenes of delirium and Samir Nasri’s sweetly-struck half-volley sent the Blue half of Wembley Stadium into raptures.
Having trailed to an early Fabio Borini effort, City managed to claw themselves level with a rather sensational Yaya Toure strike (more on that shortly…), which swung the tie in the Blues’ favour.
With momentum behind them, City were inspired and turned the game on its head inside two minutes, as Nasri smashed Manuel Pellegrini’s men into a 2-1 lead.
Jesus Navas would put the icing on the cake in injury time, as Sunderland pressed for a late equaliser, to cap another memorable day.
4 Yaya Toure v Liverpool, 2016
Another man for the big occasion: Mr Yaya Toure.
So often, the Ivorian powerhouse unleashed another gear to fire City to glory, and he proved the matchwinner once more in 2016’s dramatic penalty shoot-out triumph over Liverpool.
The Blues had led in normal time through Fernandinho, before Philippe Coutinho had levelled late on. With neither side able to find a winner in extra-time, a penalty shoot-out was required.
Goalkeeper Willy Caballero’s incredible display handed City the chance to lift the trophy with one more successful penalty – and with a 100% record from the spot, Yaya Toure was chosen as the man to convert.
Obviously, he did!
3 Willy Caballero v Liverpool, 2016
The lottery of the penalty shoot-out: nerves of steel required.
City of course, are renowned for achieving success in the most dramatic of circumstances and situations do not come much more nerve-wracking than a Cup Final shoot-out.
With Willy Caballero and Simon Mignolet between the sticks at Wembley, who would prove to be the hero?
Well, that day definitely belonged to our Argentine shot-stopper, who remarkably saved three of Liverpool’s four spot-kicks!
Once Yaya Toure had despatched the winning penalty, Caballero was deservedly hoisted aloft to celebrate in front of the City faithful, rightly soaking up the acclaim.
2 Yaya Toure v Sunderland, 2014
The goal that defies superlatives, described quite simply at the time as ‘astonishing’.
The strike, the movement, the power, the accuracy, the nonchalance!
Everything about Yaya Toure’s leveller against Sunderland in 2014 defied logic – it was absolutely outrageous.
The Blues had struggled to find a way through the Sunderland defence; so, the Ivorian unlocked ‘Ultimate Yaya’, taking matters into his own hands to equalise, casually looping the ball into the top corner from 25 yards with a calmness that contradicted the occasion.
A moment he – and all those who witnessed it – will never forget.
1 Dennis Tueart v Newcastle, 1976
There would only be one winner.
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One of the most famous goals ever to grace Wembley, Dennis Tueart’s outstanding overhead kick in the 2-1 triumph over Newcastle will go down in history as one of the best ever scored in a Manchester City shirt.
The aforementioned Barnes had opened the scoring before Alan Gowling had levelled for the Magpies, but the game was decided by a moment of individual brilliance.
There looked to be little danger with Tueart facing away from goal as Tommy Booth headed Willie Donachie’s floated delivery to the penalty spot, but Tueart had other ideas, propelling himself into the air to execute a perfectly-timed acrobatic effort into the far corner.
A strike worthy of winning any trophy and one that will be etched into City folklore forevermore.
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