Chelsea failed to halt Manchester City's League Cup title defense after a late substitution controversy resulted in the latter running away with a 3-4 win from the penalty shoot outs.
Not many times do we see players defying the manager's orders but Sunday's final proved to be one such anomaly as Kepa Arrizabalaga failed to yield to the demands of the Blues' head coach Maurizio Sarri. After keeping the Citizens at bay in normal time and the 30 minutes of extra-time, the Spanish goalkeeper was alerted to an imminent substitution which would have seen Willy Caballero featuring in goal for the spot-kicks.
However, for some unknown reason, the 24-year-old former Athletic Club No. 1 failed to budge to Maurizio Sarri's decision to replace him, signaling the bench to stay put. The twist, as a result, infuriated the Chelsea manager who plainly lost his temper, slammed a bottle into the ground and headed for the dressing room.
Watch the incident below:
Crazy scenes at Wembley!
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 24, 2019
Maurizio Sarri tried to bring on Caballero for Kepa Arrizabalaga, who simply refused to leave the field. pic.twitter.com/PI3E7rWqE0
The worst feared came to fruition with Kepa consequently paying the price for his misdemeanor. Despite the Spanish goalkeeper saving Leroy Sane's kick, Jorginho and David Luiz made a mess of their attempt to annul the world's most-expensive shot-stopper's effort. As a result, Manchester City retained a title for the first time in its history.
