City into first final of Guardiola era
Print Edition
Pep Guardiola saw his Manchester City side pushed hard before defeating second-tier Bristol City in an entertaining League Cup semifinal on Tuesday to leave him one game away from winning his first major trophy in English football.
Guardiola’s runaway Premier League leader, eyeing an unprecedented season quadruple given it also remains involved in both the FA Cup and Champions League, won 3-2 on the night for a 5-3 aggregate win over the Championship side.
It kicked off with a narrow advantage at Ashton Gate after a 2-1 first-leg win at the Etihad Stadium. But goals either side of half-time from Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero effectively saw City to a win on Tuesday and success over the two legs as it reached its first final under former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager Guardiola.
Bristol City was undaunted, however, with Marlon Pack pulling a goal back in the 64th minute before Aden Flint scored deep into stoppage time. However, there was still time for Kevin De Bruyne to round off the scoring for City.
Guardiola’s men will now face the winner of the other semifinal tie between Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley on February 25.
“We are so happy to be there, to reach this final,” Guardiola, whose debut season as City boss last term saw him end a campaign without a trophy for the first time in his managerial career, said.
“We played an amazing game until 2-0 and then we lost control, these type of games never end until the end. This is a lesson for next weekend in Cardiff in the FA Cup and especially for the Champions League,” the Spaniard warned.
In Spain, Sergio Escudero’s goal after just 24 seconds set Sevilla on its way to a 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid and a place in the Spanish Copa del Rey semifinals. Sevilla, finalist in 2016, was in charge of this quarterfinal with a 2-1 first leg success.
Real Madrid, leading 1-0 from the first leg, hosts Leganes with Alaves facing Levantes, while Barcelona takes on Espanyol.
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