Pep Guardiola said even he would not have put a pound on Manchester City to beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final as he savoured an unexpected win over what he called one of the best teams in Europe.
Nico O’Reilly’s second-half brace earned Guardiola a record fifth League Cup and he said his side were “unbelievably good” after the break at Wembley.
Guardiola claimed his team had surprised him – and that the display of O’Reilly, in particular, was a pleasant shock after the left-back turned match-winner.
“Always winning a title is difficult so it’s a joy and the satisfaction as well [beating] the best team in Europe, alongside Bayern Munich and maybe Barcelona,” he said.
“Not even me gave one pound to the victory today. We could not win against Nottingham Forest home or West Ham away, [lost] 5-1 aggregate against [Real] Madrid, for the fact we had 10 against 11 for 75 minutes [in the second leg against Real], but the players prove themselves again.
“Today we achieved it, especially without the ball and with the ball in the second half was unbelievably good. I could not believe how unbelievably good we had done in the second half.”
Guardiola does not believe City’s win will have any effect on the title race, even though Arsenal have to visit the Etihad Stadium on 19 April.
He added: “I would like to be nine points in front to fight for the Premier League. I don’t think it will have an impact. It is a different competition and they will be more concerned when they come to the Etihad.”
O’Reilly was named man of the match after his double and Guardiola said: “He has been so surprising even for me. The season he has done so far has been extraordinary.”
