Man City edge past Aston Villa to win third Carabao Cup in a row

Manchester City edged past Aston Villa to claim their third consecutive Carabao Cup with a 2-1 victory at Wembley on Sunday.

Sergio Aguero and Rodri scored in the first half to earn Pep Guardiola's side the first domestic trophy of the season.

Mbwana Samatta grabbed a goal back for Villa but they failed to complete the comeback in their first Wembley cup final since 2015.

Aguero opened the scoring after 19 minutes when he finished off Phil Foden's headed assist from close range.

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Rodri made it 2-0 when he headed home from a corner but there was controversy because Villa should have been awarded a goal kick as the ball went off Ilkay Gundogan.

City dominated possession but Villa got back into the game just before the break when John Stones slipped under pressure and Anwar El-Ghazi delivered a fine cross for Samatta to head home.

Foden almost scored City's third early in the second half but his shot went narrowly wide.

In the last three minutes, Villa came close to scoring an equaliser but Claudio Bravo tipped Bjorn Engels' header onto the post.

City became the first side to win the competition three seasons in a row since Liverpool claimed four straight titles from 1981 to 1984.

"Three times in a row is a big success. It's the consistency, incredible," Guardiola said.

"It was awesome. We struggled in the first minutes and the last ones. They had two clear chances in the first minutes but we played really well, especially in the second half.

"Big success, our second title of the season with the Community Shield, it's so nice."