Five Most Successful Teams In EFL Cup History
The League Cup was established back in 1960 as part of the Football Association's battle against the growing popularity of the European Cup which was played on weeknights.
Unlike the much older and established FA Cup competition, the League Cup was also played on weekday nights.
The format of the tournament, unlike the FA Cup, was that it was open only to clubs in the League pyramid; at the time that included the First, Second and Third divisions of English Football. No non-league clubs were able to take part. Also the semi-finals and final were two-legged. The final was changed to a single match from 1967. The tradition of a two-legged semi-final has remained to this day.
The first winners of the trophy were Aston Villa, who defeated Rotherham United in the inaugural final which was played over two legs in August and September 1961.
From the 1996-97 season, all clubs involved in European competition have received a bye to the third round of the competition as the FA sought to assist these teams in prevented fixture congestion.
As of the current season of the League Cup, extra time was scrapped from every round aside from the final with all ties level at full time progressing straight to a penalty shootout. This, again, is due to fixture congestion in the English game.
The League Cup is a tournament that has had an on again/off again relationship with leading Premier League teams for many years, with many managers electing to field youthful looking sides to keep their squads fresh for Premier League fixtures, so great are the financial rewards in that competition. However, this hasn't prevented many of the country's top sides from winning the tournament.
In this slideshow, we look back at the five most successful teams in the near sixty-year history of the competition.
#5 Manchester City (Five wins, one runner up)
Manchester City's 1976 League Cup success was the last piece of major silverware the club won until the 2011 FA Cup. It was a long period without success but despite that fallow period, City have had great success in the League Cup.
The 1976 win was their second victory; their first had come in 1970 when they had overcome West Bromwich Albion 2-1 in a memorable final.
City's dominance in the competition, however, has come this decade, with three further wins in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Manuel Pellegrino became the first City manager to win two League Cups during his tenure as boss. The current City manager, Pep Guardiola can become the second in 2019 should City overcome Chelsea in this year's final.
A 2019 victory would also mark the first time City have defended the trophy and would also be their sixth success which would in turn catapult them to second on this list.