‘Important’ Mahrez has regained his confidence – Manchester City captain Fernandinho

Manchester City captain Fernandinho has stated Riyad Mahrez is ‘high in confidence’ following his man-of-the-match performance in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final triumph over Tottenham Hotspur.

The 30-year-old dazzled at Wembley Stadium as Aymeric Laporte’s 82nd-minute header secured a 1-0 victory for the Citizens.

Mahrez played from start to finish for City and he was named the Man of the Match as a reward for his attacking contributions in the encounter.

Although he could not add to his tally of 11 goals and six assists in all competitions on Sunday, Fernandinho noted Mahrez’s impact in games.

"He's really important. He's really confident. He has his confidence back and I'm really happy to see him high in confidence,” Fernandinho told the club website.

"He can help us a lot during the games."

Sunday’s cup win sealed Manchester City’s fourth Carabao Cup title in a row and Mahrez was thrilled with the presence of the club faithful at Wembley.

"It’s so good to have the fans back. They made a massive difference,” he said after the game.

"The atmosphere with just 8,000 fans was amazing and we can’t wait to have more fans back soon."

The 2016 African Footballer of the Year added that they were patient for the late winning goal after dominating the match with the most chances and possession.

"We knew it was going to be tough. We stayed focused, we kept dominating the ball and then we scored. I think we deserved to win,” he continued.

"You are always scared because it is a good team but we are confident in our game. It is a very good win and we get the trophy again. We are very happy.

"We just focus on every competition that we play in. Today was a final, whether we play well or not we have to win - today I think we played good and won."

Mahrez will hope to maintain his fine form when he travels back to his city of birth for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.