When Manchester City reached the Carabao Cup Final, Pep Guardiola thought he’d be facing his old foe Jose Mourinho once again.
It hasn’t worked out like that with Tottenham sacking their manager last week and giving 29-year-old interim Ryan Mason the thankless task of denying Guardiola his eighth major trophy at City in under five years.
Instead of heaping more misery on Mourinho – the pair were proper enemies during their time at s Barcelona and Real Madrid – Guardiola has been reflecting on City’s loyalty to him when he failed to win silverware in his first year at The Etihad.