Man City EFL triumph: treble ambitions, heartbreak and pride

Manchester City beat Aston Villa 2-1 to win their third EFL Cup in a row and forward Raheem Sterling has set his sights on winning a treble.

Raheem Sterling celebrates Manchester City's EFL Cup triumph

Manchester City beat Aston Villa 2-1 in Sunday's EFL Cup final, lifting the cup three times in a row and for the fifth time in seven seasons.

Sergio Aguero and Rodri scored early to give the Premier League champion an early advantage.

Guardiola & Co., although stoked, have bigger ambitions in mind.

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Focused on treble, says Sterling

Raheem Sterling says City is "fully focused" on completing a treble after beating Villa in the EFL Cup final.

Sterling concedes his side has no hope of overhauling the 22-point gap on Premier League leader Liverpool, but the forward is eyeing up more silverware in the Champions League and FA Cup.

The reigning Premier League champion leads Real Madrid 2-1 ahead of the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie and travels to Sheffield Wednesday in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday.

"The league has been difficult," he told Sky Sports . "We won one title so far and we're still in the running for two more so we we're fully focused and ready to do the business.

"We just have to keep focused and that's what we've done here.

"It's so hard to [win it] for three years on the bounce and that's what we have done - we just need to keep going and winning trophies."

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Three in a row is a big success, says Guardiola

Including the Community Shield, City has now won eight of the last nine competitions it has entered and head coach Pep Guardiola does not expect any team to match that level of dominance. The Spaniard has been at the helm for City's 2018, 2019 and 2020 final victories over Arsenal, Chelsea and Villa respectively in the EFL Cup.

"I think the fact that we've won eight of nine is incredible - it's remarkable," he said. "I think it will be so difficult to do it again, not just for ourselves but for our opponents - it's the consistency.

"For this club it's not just about one title, it's about every game we play and every title we play for counts and try to win and that is the best thing we can give for this club.

"Sometimes you win a title and then after cannot win a title for a long time. 

"What is important is everybody knows we have the responsibility to fight and try to win the games and titles and that means a lot."

"Three times in a row is a big success," Guardiola said, per BBC Sport.