Manchester City have been knocked out of the Capital One Cup, suffering an extra-time defeat to Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium tonight.
Roberto Mancini made 11 changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Arsenal on Sunday, including selecting Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli up front.
The latter fired City into a 27th-minute lead, drilling in a low shot after smartly controlling a cross from James Milner, who was playing against his old side.
Another one-time Villa star, Gareth Barry, gave his former club a helping hand by deflecting Andreas Weimann's cross into his own net.
The visitors' parity lasted all of five minutes as set-piece specialist Aleksandar Kolarov whipped a free kick over the wall and past Shay Given.
However, Paul Lambert's side forced extra time courtesy of Gabriel Agbonlahor, who dribbled into the box before striking low for his first goal since January.
Agbonlahor later turned provider as Charles N'Zogbia converted his parried shot six minutes into the additional thirty, and then completed a fine performance with a fourth Villa goal that killed off the City revival.
The pacey forward went on a surging run before shooting, with the aid of a deflection, past Costel Pantilimon to secure the victory for his side and eliminate the Premier League champions.
Joe Fish
