Nine-goal Man City through to final

Manchester City cruised into the Capital One Cup final with a record 9-0 aggregate victory over West Ham United in the semi-finals. With City holding a commanding 6-0 advantage from the first leg, the Hammers had it all to do in the return on Tuesday night and the hosts found themselves outgunned again, succumbing to a 3-0 defeat. Striker Alvaro Negredo, who scored a hat-trick in the first leg, was twice on target at the Boleyn Ground as City racked up a record aggregate winning margin for a League Cup semi-final. "It was a very professional performance" Manuel Pellegrini When Negredo headed in a pinpoint cross from City academy graduate Marcos Lopes after only three minutes it seemed as though another emphatic victory was in store for Manuel Pellegrini's charges, particularly when Sergio Aguero doubled the visitors' tally after 24 minutes. However, the Hammers then came close to a goal themselves through Andy Carroll, who headed over, and half-time substitute Carlton Cole, who was denied by Costel Pantilimon, but they conceded once more, when Negredo - who later sustained a shoulder injury - wriggled through the Hammers' rearguard to beat Jussi Jaaskelainen in the 59th-minute and take City through to their first League Cup final in 38 years. Ominously for City's Barclays Premier League rivals, summer signing Stevan Jovetic made his first substitute appearance since October, while West Ham's defeat was compounded by the loss to injury of Mohamed Diame, who was carried off on a stretcher, and Joe Cole. City will learn who their final opponents on 2 March will be on Wednesday evening when Sunderland travel to Old Trafford to defend a 2-1 first-leg lead against Manchester United. "It was a very professional performance," said Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini. "It was easy to think the game was finished from the 6-0 in the first leg but it was important to reach the final winning all the games. For Sergio Aguero, it was useful match as he played 60 minutes." West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, meanwhile, rued his side's defending for the first goal, which arrived after 154 seconds. "The most disappointing thing was our defensive unit doing what it did in the first few minutes," he said. "Manchester City are a super, super team but it was not a super, super opening goal. "Obviously we were disappointed to lose Joe Cole and Mo Diame to injuries, but we'll have to see how serious they are. Mo's injury might not have been as serious as it first looked."

Ancelotti said :

Carlo Ancelotti appeared in the press room following Real Madrid’s win at the Cornellá-El Prat Stadium: "The team played well, with quality, pace and intensity. It was a good match, it is normal that we suffered a bit at the end after having not scored the second". The Italian coach also spoke about the team that he played and how difficult the tie is: "It is the cup quarter-finals and we have to put out our best team; the tie is still to be decided". The Whites’ coach congratulated Casillas for his record of minutes without conceding: "He's doing very well and deserves the record because of his professionalism. He helps the team a lot. He has played very well in every match. We have a lot of league and cup matches to play and the two goalkeepers are playing more or less the same number of matches. Iker is a starting goalkeeper, as is Diego López". Bale was another player that he mentioned by name: "He had a good match, maybe he didn’t do everything perfectly but he worked hard in attack and in defence. The match was excellent, all of the players did very well. Bale is used to playing on the right because that is where he has played a lot". When asked about the starting line-up, Ancelotti said: "It is the cup quarter-finals and we have to put out our best team; the tie is still to be decided. Espanyol played very well and with a lot of spirit. The tie is still to be decided and we will play with our best team in the second leg". Ancelotti highlighted the hard work done by Real Madrid, whose win was deserved and could have been by a bigger margin: "We only suffered a bit at the end. The team played well, with quality, pace and intensity. We recovered the ball well, had no problems at the back and finished without conceding. It was a good match, it is normal that we suffered a bit at the end after having not scored the second". The Italian coach did not want to reveal anything about his conversation with Aguirre during the match: "It is between us, I don’t like to say. If he wants to, I have no problem. They are things between coaches".