Manchester City tops Liverpool to win League Cup on penalties

Manchester City captured Sunday's Capital One Cup final over Liverpool by the narrowest of margins, nabbing victory on penalties, 3-1.

Rarely used and often criticised, City's second choice shot-stopper Willy Cabellero was the unlikely hero, making three saves in the shootout.

Knotted at 1-1 after 120 minutes, penalties were needed to settle the first League Cup finals meeting between the two sides.

(Courtesy: beIN Sport)

Yaya Toure calmly slotted home the deciding penalty that capped-off a taut affair.

The victory is City's fourth League Cup win, joint third with Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and rivals Manchester United.

This is Liverpool gaffer Jurgen Klopp's fourth consecutive cup finals' loss.

A cramped first half with few chances took a different form after the break.

Fernandinho flipped the fixture on its head in the 49th minute with help from Liverpool shot-stopper Simon Mignolet, but that was canceled out seven minutes from time courtesy of Philippe Coutinho.

For 83 minutes, the prevailing sentiment was that Fernandino's effort was the match winner.

Full credit to the Brazilian for making a darting run from distance before an incisive, perfectly-weighted pass from Sergio Aguero gave the holding midfielder a glimmer of space. Fernandinho needed only a moment to unleash a thumping effort that wedged between a falling Mignolet and the slick Wembley surface.

Related - VIDEO: Another Mignolet howler puts Manchester City ahead in League Cup final

In fear of taking anything away from Fernandinho's acute strike, it must be said; Mignolet should have done better.

The Belgian international made up for that error with five minutes of regular time on the clock, denying Fernando's point-blank effort to keep matters level.

Mignolet lunged to the rescue again moments later, throwing his body in front of a Yaya Toure header to the delight of traveling Reds' supporters in attendance.

Raheem Sterling could have doubled City's advantage ten minutes after the opener, when the England international narrowly fired wide after a crafty link-up between the younger Toure and David Silva gifted the former Liverpool attacker an opportunity.

Sterling came close again in the 79th minute, and questions about his composure in front of goal will undoubtedly be asked in light of Coutinho's leveler ten minutes from time.

City, namely Sterling, should have been more clinical in the penalty area, though it's hard not to side with supporters angered by Michael Oliver's failure to adjudge a penalty on a daft Alberto Moreno.

If the second half was open and highlighted by a litany of opportunities, the opening stanza was a measured affair.

The first half's best chance crept inches wide of the post and was emblematic of a cagey affair where both sides appeared unabashedly tentative.

Aguero was foiled courtesy of Mignolet getting a hand to parry it into the post and out of danger, after the Argentine striker darted to his right to shake two Liverpool defenders.

Tidy defending benefited two defensive units that were fairly doubted heading into the fixture. Pellegrini's City, refreshed with Vincent Kompany's return and the subsequent dropping of Martin Demichelis, were orderly. Liverpool, with a makeshift centre-half pairing of Lucas and Kolo Toure - who came on for Mamadou Sakho midway through the opening interval following a clash of heads - were good enough.

Liverpool's back four was more stretched in the second half, repeatedly relying on a heroic Mignolet before Coutinho pounced on a rebound off the post to send the match to extra time.

Related - VIDEO: Coutinho sends League Cup final to extra time with late goal

Extra time was needed, and Coutinho's goal emboldened the Reds. The best chance of extra time was Divock Origi's, with the Belgian international substitute's header denied by a diving Willy Caballero.

That save foreshadowed what took place in the shootout, with the former Malaga 'keeper denying Coutinho, Lucas and finally Adam Lallana before Toure cemented the result.