Arsenal 0-2 Man City Highlights, EFL Cup 2025-26 Final: Citizens Clinch Crown Riding On O'Reilly's Brace

Hello football fans! We're back with another live blog of the final clash of the EFL Cup between Manchester City and Arsenal at the Wembley Stadium in London on March 22, 2026. Stay tuned with us for the live score and real-time updates of the match.

The last time Arsenal and Manchester City faced off was earlier this season in the Premier League on September 21, 2025, at the Emirates Stadium. The match ended in a highly competitive 1–1 draw.

Manchester City took an early lead through their star striker Erling Haaland. He found the net after sustained pressure from the visitors, silencing the home crowd.

Arsenal responded well, showing the resilience that has defined their title charge this season. Gabriel Martinelli scored the leveling goal, ensuring the points were shared between the two title rivals.

Matches Played: 214

Arsenal: 101

Manchester City: 65

Draws: 48

Arsenal reached the 2025-26 EFL Cup Final after a hard-fought two-legged semi-final victory over Chelsea. Arsenal advanced to the final with a 4–2 aggregate score. Arsenal took a narrow lead in a five-goal thriller. Ben White opened the scoring early, followed by goals from Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi. Despite a late brace from Chelsea’s Alejandro Garnacho, the Gunners secured a 3–2 away win.

The return leg was a more disciplined affair. Chelsea struggled to break down Arsenal's defense for much of the night. The tie was finally put beyond doubt in the 97th minute when Kai Havertz scored a dramatic late winner to secure a 1–0 victory (4–2 aggregate).

Manchester City booked their place in the 2026 EFL Cup Final with a dominant 5–1 aggregate victory over the defending champions, Newcastle United. The first leg was a cagey affair that exploded in the second half. Newcastle's Yoane Wissa hit the woodwork twice early in the second period, but City was far more clinical. New signing Antoine Semenyo prodded home from close range in the 53rd minute after a low cross from Jeremy Doku. Deep into stoppage time (90+8'), Rayan Cherki swept in a low cross from Rayan Aït-Nouri to secure a commanding two-goal cushion for the second leg.

Pep Guardiola’s side effectively ended the tie within the first 35 minutes of the return leg. Omar Marmoush was the star of the night, scoring twice in the opening half-hour (7' and 29'). His first goal was a scrappy effort that deflected off Dan Burn, while his second was a clinical header from a Semenyo cross. Tijjani Reijnders made it 3–0 just three minutes later with a powerful low strike from 10 yards out, making the aggregate score an insurmountable 5–0.

Newcastle pulled one back in the 62nd minute through a solo effort from Anthony Elanga, but it wasn't enough to spark a comeback.

The Arsenal vs Manchester City EFL Cup Final will be streamed live on the Fancode app in India from 10:00 PM IST on March 22, Sunday.

The teams are out at a packed Wembley Stadium and the match is underway! Arsenal are attacking from right to left while Man City is building up from left to right.

Arsenal makes the first move and it is Havertz who is denied by Trafford. After Zubimendi slips a low pass into the six-yard box, Havertz is free to go one-on-one with City's goalkeeper. An attempted finish lacks enough loft, allowing Trafford to narrow the angle and make a crucial close-range stop. The score said goallless.

Arsenal are the one who take first initiative. Bukayo Saka fails to utilise the first corner of the game. Arsenal keep pushing on and Piero Hincapie sees a yellow card. Arsenal come again with a long free kick and an attack through Bukayo Saka from the rebound. But this time Man City defenders deal with it successfully.

Manchester City hit back at Arsenal after staying on the backfoot in the first few minutes. They create two chances through Antoine Semenyo, but none end up inside the goal. Arsenal keep their defences tight and block the two attempts. City also earned two corners in this period. Arsenal will want to get out of their defensive phase soon.

Both sides press each other hard in the midfield and things heat up. Zubimendi and O'Reilly grab a piece of each other's jersey and begin to get a little overheated. Soon enough, the referee restores order, before the pair agree to disagree and then play on. A late tackle from the side upends Gyokeres in midfield and costs Khusanov a booking. There's been 11 fouls committed in the opening 35 minutes of this encounter.

A narrow miss for Erling Haaland and Manchester City almost clinched the lead. A superb surge by Semenyo leaves three defenders in his wake, and after beating Rice he stands a tempting cross up to the far post. Haaland reaches first but the ball stays away enough for him to not get a proper contact. The header goes over the crossbar and the score stays goalless. Soon after, referee blows the half time whistle. It has been a cagey affair with lot of midfield battles and few clear cut chances.

Kepa Arrizabalaga misjudges a long ball and almost lands his team in trouble. Gets out of the box to intercept it midway but the ball bounces over him to Doku. Kepa finds it difficult to deal with Doku and gets forced to foul him. Referee immediately shows yellow card to Kepa. Antoine Semenyo misses the resultant free kick.

Nico O'Reilly give Manchester City the much-deserved lead. Arsenal were getting pushed back in their defensive structure. While they defended everything with bodies on the line, City were brining more and more players into the box. Finally, the pressure gave in as Kepa Arrizabalaga fumbled a cross from the right side. The ball bounces in front of the goal and O'Reilly runs in to knock the header into the empty net. Back-to-back errors from Kepa.

Disastrous few minutes for Arsenal as they concede another goal. Manchester City kept their chokehold on Arsenal and they breakthrough once again. The ball rotates to Matheus Nunes on the right side and he puts in a beautiful cross in the box. Just like the previous occasion, O'Reilly follows it up and puts it in the back of the net. Man City are dominating here.

Arsenal come out of the defensive low block but it might be too little too late. Ricardo Calafiori gets two chances to equalise but none end in the back of the net. His header of the flat free kick is collected cleanly by Trafford first. Then a low driver from the left side of the box tickles the outside of the post to go wide. Arsenal are running out of time and Man City can see victory.

Manchester City win the EFL Cup title as they defeat Arsenal 2-0 in the final. Outstanding performance from Pep Guardiola's side in the second half and some individual brilliance from Nico O'Reilly secures the title for them. Upped the tempo in the second half, pushed men inside the box, dominated possession and the pressure gave in to two goals. Pep Guardiola is elated while Mikel Arteta loses yet again final. A disappointing performance from Arsenal as they could barely get out of their own half after break.

Following their victory over Arsenal,Manchester City have won the EFL Cup (Carabao Cup) 9 times.

This latest win moves them ahead of the 8-title mark and closer to the record held by Liverpool (10 titles).

Following their defeat to Manchester City, Arsenal have now lost the EFL Cup (League Cup) final 7 times.

This result extends their record for the most runner-up finishes in the history of the competition.