Nico O’Reilly scored two second-half goals as Manchester City defeated Arsenal in the 2025/26 EFL (Carabao) Cup final to claim what could be their only title of the season and end the Gunners’ hopes of a quadruple.
Despite being one of the strongest teams in the world, the Cityzens were considered underdogs going into the final. This is because of their recent history with Arsenal, managed by Mikel Arteta.
The first half of the game looked like all predictions would come true, as Arsenal pushed them to the edge. However, City slowly woke up and took back the game, leading to O’Reilly’s first and second goals of the afternoon.
The young defender, who just got his first England national team call-up by Thomas Tuchel ahead of the March international window, was overjoyed that he was able to be the person responsible for salvaging what looked like a terrible season for the Cityzens by ensuring that they maintained a clean record of not finishing trophyless.
Speaking after the game, the Manchester City academy graduate said, “Unbelievable feeling! To win a final, to beat this team, we know how good they are. We need to build on it now; it’ll give us momentum and buzz today.
“Yeah, a bit of disbelief to see the fans celebrate like that when I scored my goals. Really a good feeling. And a great weekend, a great birthday weekend.
“Since I was a kid, I always played midfield and was always arriving in the box and scoring goals. To bring it into a senior level and the highest level, it’s good for me and brings goals to my game. It’s a great feeling.”
The trophy was also Pep Guardiola’s 40th career trophy as a manager, which further cemented his legacy as one of the greatest coaches in the world. The Spaniard, who made his name as Barcelona’s second greatest-ever coach and a world-beater at Bayern Munich before heading over to England to become Manchester City’s greatest-ever manager, spoke on the joy of winning another trophy.
“I still enjoy it,” he said, reflecting on winning the trophy. “Today was a real challenge, and nobody gives us anything.
“Today we saw ourselves and our level against the best team. We were what we are now. That is the proof and challenge. That’s what we’re about.
“We don’t regret the challenge; sport is that. They are the best so far. Second half, I could not believe we could do that against Arsenal, but we did it.”