Manchester City lost 1-0 to Manchester United on Wednesday but hung on to reach the League Cup final 3-2 on aggregate and will face Aston Villa at Wembley.

Nemanja Matic's 35th-minute strike gave United victory at the Etihad Stadium but the midfielder was later sent off and it was not enough to overturn the 3-1 deficit from the semi-final first leg at Old Trafford.

Matic struck home a thumping half volley off the post as City failed to clear Fred's curling free kick in United's first threatening attack of the game.

But the Serbian was shown a red card for his second bookable offense 15 minutes from time and United were unable to get the second goal which would have sent the tie to penalties.

Matic's first goal in more than a year offered United the tantalizing possibility of turning round the tie after City had made the early running and twice forced saves out of goalkeeper David de Gea.

Raheem Sterling had the ball in the net six minutes after United went ahead but was offside and 13 minutes into second half he conjured up a horror miss as he tried to round De Gea.

The goalkeeper did enough to force him a touch wide, allowing time for defenders to drop behind and when Sterling found space to strike, he was off balance and hit the ball over the crossbar.

With six minutes to play, Sergio Aguero netted after a clever through ball from Joao Cancelo, but was marginally offside. It was City's first match in 25 without scoring.

The final is on March 1 when City will seek to win the trophy for a third successive year and a fourth time in five seasons.

Defeat in the tie ended United's hopes of winning the trophy in what has been a disappointing season, but manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was happy enough after a second successive win at the Etihad.

"I am so proud of these players. They have beaten City twice at their ground. They have come so far these players. They have given me absolutely everything," the Norwegian added.

"Even though we did not create too many clear-cut chances we pressed them back. It pleased me."

Elsewhere, Liverpool continued their relentless march to a first English title in 30 years, easing to a 2-0 victory at West Ham United to move 19 points clear at the Premier League summit.

Mohamed Salah fired them ahead from the penalty spot in the first half and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain doubled their advantage early in the second to wrap up a remarkable 23rd win from 24 games this season and stretch their unbeaten league run to 40.

While Liverpool have amassed a whopping 70 points, Moyes's side sit 17th with 23, outside the relegation zone only on goal difference.

In Spain, Real Madrid thrashed a depleted Real Zaragoza side 4-0 on Wednesday to reach the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

The second division team made eight changes as they rested players for their clash with leaders Cadiz on Sunday and the 13-times European Cup winners took full advantage.

Real moved ahead in the sixth minute when defender Raphael Varane finished from close range after a clever corner routine. Lucas Vazquez doubled Madrid's advantage with a drive into the top corner after being set up by Toni Kroos.

Vinicius Jr. struck after 72 minutes with Karim Benzema wrapping up the win from close range for Zinedine Zidane's rampant side.

Third-tier Cultural Leonesa nearly took another scalp after eliminating Atletico Madrid in the previous round, with Valencia needing a 4-2 penalty shootout victory to beat them following a 0-0 draw.

In Italy, Nicolo Barella's superb winner helped Inter Milan beat Fiorentina 2-1 at San Siro on Wednesday to set up an Italian Cup semi-final meeting with Napoli.

Antonio Candreva put Inter in front on the brink of halftime, before a Martin Caceres header drew the visitors level on the hour mark.

But a blistering strike from Barella decided the quarter-final as the midfielder raced onto a headed clearance to rifle in a low shot on the 67th minute.

The home crowd had further reason to cheer when Christian Eriksen came off the bench to make his Inter debut, one day after signing from Tottenham Hotspur.

Inter, who have won the Italian Cup on seven occasions but not since 2011, will face Napoli over two legs between February and March for a place in the final, against either Juventus or AC Milan.