Gallery: Manchester City’s Carabao Cup celebrations and behind-the-scenes at Wembley | OneFootball

Manchester City claimed their first piece of silverware in two seasons courtesy of a Nico O’Reilly brace over title rivals Arsenal in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley.

The Blues are still in the running for two other titles as they take on Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final in early April after the international break, whilst having an outside chance to win a fifth Premier League title in six seasons.

Arsenal have a nine point lead at the top of the tree as things stand, albeit having played an additional game over Pep Guardiola‘s side, whom the Gunners face in a monumental Premier League battle at the Etihad Stadium on April 19.

City are at a nascent stage of their transition under director of football Hugo Viana but despite the underlying challenges of working with a new-look dressing room, Guardiola has turned a corner with a timely cup triumph and one that will give his side a gigantic confidence boost for the season run-in.

Pictured: Man City celebrations as O’Reilly brace downs Arsenal at Wembley

Man City staff and board join celebrations

Wembley witnessed an outpouring of emotions from a Manchester City squad made up of players at a wide range of stages in their respective careers, with many tasting the first piece of silverware in their careers and many adding another to a rich trophy cabinet.

Guardiola referred to his pride in the likes of Abdukodir Khusanov, Antoine Semenyo and others who are fairly early into their Etihad Stadium tenures and have yet played a crucial role for the Blues en route to Carabao Cup glory.

There is no telling whether Guardiola will honour the final season of his current contract at the club amid uncertainty over the 55-year-old’s future beyond this summer, with Enzo Maresca touted as the likeliest candidate to succeed the Catalan in the event of a premature exit.

City’s cup glory couldn’t have come at a better time arguably – having endured a difficult first half of March – as 20 first-team players head for international duty for the next two weeks before returning to club duties against Liverpool in the FA Cup.