Football
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Man City's Vincent Kompany admits sympathy for Liverpool after shootout

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany admits he felt for Liverpool after his side's dramatic Capital One Cup final victory on Sunday.

Kompany earned plaudits for commiserating with beaten Liverpool players before celebrating with his teammates at Wembley.

City beat the Reds on penalties after a compelling and energy-sapping contest ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.

The Belgium defender said: "I didn't do it necessarily thinking of anything. It was just when we missed the first penalty I remember the feeling was just horrible.

"It was my first penalty shootout in a final and missing the first penalty I thought, 'Two hours we've been fighting with each other and this is how we'll decide the winner.'

"When we actually started to turn things around I felt for some of the players that I knew from Liverpool. It was more of a natural reaction out of respect for a lot of players that I know.

"I didn't think it was such a major thing but obviously people have seen it that way."

City face Liverpool again at Anfield on Wednesday looking for another victory to get their Premier League title challenge back on track.

Yet City have a poor record at Liverpool having not won on any of their last 12 league visits.

Kompany said: "It's hard to predict an Anfield away game because it's so difficult -- that's just how it is.

"I'm sure if we manage to get a positive result at Anfield then we'll be able to maintain that and gain even more momentum. That would be an incredible achievement if we managed to go to Anfield and get a good result."

City, in fourth, have not played in the Premier League for two and a half weeks and have ground to make up after defeats in their last two outings to title rivals Leicester and Tottenham.

Kompany said: "It's a weird feeling but it's hunting season, so it's better to be chasing than be chased in some ways. Everyone at the club has to have the knife between the teeth and know that now everyone needs to be as sharp and focused as ever. We can get to something special."

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