Unlike so much in the world right now, the worst fears were not realised. Manchester City did not crush Aston Villa in a way that was demoralising or humiliating. They won by the smallest margin, a single goal, and were made to work for it until the very end.
Their hold on domestic cup competitions remains, however. This was their third straight League Cup win, to go with last season’s clean sweep. And while it was not a mismatch, it was never really in doubt. Villa were 2-0 down after 30 minutes and only got back into the game became of a John Stones mishap very much against the run of play.