Manchester United reached the League Cup final on Tuesday, beating Derby County 4-2 at Old Trafford to overturn a shock 1-0 defeat in the first leg. The Premier League champion cruised into a 3-0 halftime lead with goals from Nani, John O'Shea and Carlos Tevez but had to withstand a spirited second-half fight-back from the Championship (second division) struggler. Giles Barnes slotted home a penalty with 10 minutes remaining to give Derby hope of forcing extra time but substitute Cristiano Ronaldo converted an 89th minute spot kick for United. Barnes then curled in a stoppage time free kick. United, which has reached the final for the seventh time, will face either Premier League Tottenham Hotspur or Championship side Burnley in the Wembley final. Tottenham won the first leg 4-1 at home. Robinho and Kaka give City Brazilian blues Manchester City suffered a double dose of Brazilian blues when striker Robinho walked out on a training camp in Tenerife just as its bid to sign his compatriot Kaka was rejected. Instead of celebrating what would have been a world record transfer, City's executive chairman Garry Cook was left to lament the role of Kaka's club AC Milan in the failed bid. Cook was part of a group of City officials who spent seven hours in the Italian city on Monday trying to secure the world record transfer of the Brazilian midfielder but said the Italian club lost its nerve. “I think there was some political pressure and definitely media space that they engaged in. To be honest, I think they bottled it,” Cook told the club's website. “We never met the player, we only met the representatives, we never actually made him an offer on personal terms. “We've been to Milan four times and the delegation yesterday involved three lawyers, a board member who had flown from Abu Dhabi, myself and one other senior executive. “What they wanted to talk about was; `how much are you going to pay him? We chose not to get into that and we didn't make an offer to the player.” Just as Milan was announcing the deal was off, Robinho was packing his bags to travel to Brazil. The $44.95 million record signing was reported to be frustrated by City's lack of progress on the pitch and in the transfer market, with fullback Wayne Bridge and striker Craig Bellamy the only January arrivals. “I do know Robinho is not at the training center in Tenerife ... it is a breach of club discipline and I am waiting for a full debrief,” Cook told the BBC. He said, however, that he had made the club aware that he had to return to Brazil because of a family matter. Despite the setbacks, City will continue to look to invest its huge funds. “We've got clear plans, we are not going to stop,” Cook said, also confirming that a fee had been agreed with Hamburg SV for Dutch international midfielder Nigel De Jong. “This club deserves great players and the fans deserve great players and we will continue on that goal; we are building for the future.”
