 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2015–16 Football League Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Afterextra time Manchester City won 3–1 onpenalties | |||||||
| Date | 28 February 2016 (2016-02-28) | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Vincent Kompany (Manchester City) | ||||||
| Referee | Michael Oliver (Northumberland) | ||||||
| Attendance | 86,206 | ||||||
←2015 2017 → | |||||||
The2016 Football League Cup Final was afootball match played atWembley Stadium,London, on 28 February 2016 to determine the winner of the2015–16 Football League Cup, the 56th edition of theFootball League Cup, a competition for the 92 teams in thePremier League andFootball League. It was contested byLiverpool andManchester City, with Manchester City winning 3–1 in apenalty shoot-out after the match had finished 1–1 afterextra time.[1] They would have qualified for the Third Qualifying Round of the2016–17 UEFA Europa League, but they ultimately qualified for the2016–17 UEFA Champions League instead by virtue of their league position.[2]
Liverpool were participating in a record 12th League Cup Final, having previously won a record eight, most recently in2012 againstCardiff City. Their last loss was in2005 toChelsea.[3][4]
Manchester City made their fifth appearance in the final, having won three previous times, the last of which as recently as2014 againstSunderland.[5]
| Round | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Carlisle United (H) | 1–1 (3–2pen) |
| 4 | AFC Bournemouth (H) | 1–0 |
| 5 | Southampton (A) | 1-6 |
| SF | Stoke City (A) | 0-1 |
| Stoke City (H) | 0–1 (6–5pen) |
Liverpool, as aPremier League team involved in the2015–16 UEFA Europa League, started the competition in the third round. In this they were drawn againstFootball League Two teamCarlisle United, at their home ground,Anfield. Afterextra time the score was 1–1 but Liverpool advanced after a 3–2penalty shoot out win.[6] In the fourth round they were drawn at home again, this time against fellow Premier League teamAFC Bournemouth; they won the game 1–0 afterNathaniel Clyne's debut goal for Liverpool.[7]
In the quarter finals, they were drawn away to fellow Premier League teamSouthampton. AtSt. Mary's Stadium, Liverpool won 6–1 with ahat-trick fromDivock Origi, two goals fromDaniel Sturridge and one fromJordon Ibe.[8] In the two-legged semi-final, Liverpool were drawn againstStoke City. At theBritannia Stadium, Liverpool won the first leg 1–0 due to a goal from Ibe.[9] However, they lost the second leg 1–0 at Anfield, their first home loss in a League Cup semi-final,[10] necessitating a penalty shoot out which Liverpool won 6–5; goalkeeperSimon Mignolet saved fromPeter Crouch andMarc Muniesa withJoe Allen scoring the winner.[10]
| Round | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Sunderland (A) | 1-4 |
| 4 | Crystal Palace (H) | 5–1 |
| 5 | Hull City (H) | 4–1 |
| SF | Everton (A) | 1-2 |
| Everton (H) | 3–1 |
Manchester City, as a Premier League team involved in the2015–16 UEFA Champions League, started in the third round, in which they were drawn away againstSunderland. At theStadium of Light, Manchester City won 4–1 with goals fromSergio Agüero,Kevin De Bruyne,Raheem Sterling and an own goal fromVito Mannone.[11] In the next round they were drawn at home againstCrystal Palace. At theCity of Manchester Stadium, Manchester City won 5–1 with goals fromWilfried Bony, De Bruyne,Kelechi Iheanacho,Yaya Touré andManu García.[12]
In the quarter-finals, they were drawn againstHull City at home, where they won 4–1 with goals from Bony, Iheanacho and two from De Bruyne.[13] In the semi-finals, they were drawn againstEverton where despite losing 2–1 atGoodison Park,[14] Manchester City won 3–1 at the City of Manchester Stadium, which included a controversial goal as Raheem Sterling failed to keep the ball from crossing the dead ball line, but the officials missed it and allowed the goal to stand thus reaching the final 4–3 on aggregate and also preventing aMerseyside derby final.[15]
In the 49th minuteFernandinho opened the scoring for Man City with a low shot from a tight angle on the right of the box that went into the far corner under Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet. In the 60th minute Raheem Sterling had a chance to make it 2-0 but he passed the ball wide of the near post from six yards out. In the 83rd minute, Daniel Sturridge drilled the ball in from the right beyond the far post, the ball came toAdam Lallana whose shot hit the face of the near post with the ball coming back toPhilippe Coutinho, who scored with a low right foot shot from 12 yards out.[16] There were no more goals in the 90 minutes or in the 30 minutes of extra-time with the match going to a penalty shoot-out.Emre Can scored the first penalty of the shoot-out for Liverpool before Fernandinho missed the first spot-kick for Man City, hitting the post.Lucas Leiva then missed the next kick for Liverpool, withWilly Caballero diving to his left to save.Jesús Navas then scored with his kick before Philippe Coutinho missed with the next kick for Liverpool, Caballero saving again to his left. Sergio Agüero then scored before Caballero dived to his right to save from Adam Lallana. Yaya Touré scored with a low shot to the left to win the game for Man City 3-1 on penalties.[17]
| Liverpool | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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| Penalties | ||
| 1–3 | ||
          Liverpool |      Manchester City |
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In winning, Manchester City qualified for the Third Qualifying Round of the2016–17 UEFA Europa League; however, they subsequently qualified for the2016–17 UEFA Champions League via their league position. The vacant UEFA Europa League berth was instead allocated to the club ranked highest in the2015–16 Premier League that had not already qualified for Europe, which was seventh-placedWest Ham United.
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