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After Jose, Robins eye Pep scalp
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After fashioning the sensation of the English football season with a League Cup triumph over Manchester United, Bristol City manager Lee Johnson knows there could only be one way to top a win over Jose Mourinho 鈥 and that is by beating Pep Guardiola.
The cheering was still reverberating at the Ashton Gate home of the second-tier Championship club on Wednesday after its last-gasp 2-1 quarterfinal win over the English Premier League giant when the semifinal draw offered it an even giddier follow-up.
For the Robins鈥 reward on one of the finest nights in their 123-year history was to set up the prospect of another when Guardiola鈥檚 Manchester City, Europe鈥檚 team of the moment, visits in a last-four, second-leg tie in January.
Johnson was asked how it felt to be presented with the hardest task in English football against a side unbeaten in domestic matches this term.
鈥淚t鈥檚 brilliant,鈥 he enthused.
鈥淲e move on now. We didn鈥檛 show United too much respect. Now it鈥檚 on to Manchester City over two legs and there鈥檚 another chance for the players to test themselves against another elite group,鈥 he said. 鈥淐ity are a beast of an organization.鈥
The beasts who have been devouring all EPL opposition this season, though, may find Ashton Gate as tricky and oppressive a venue as Mourinho鈥檚 men, who became the Robins鈥 fourth EPL victims of their inspired Cup run.
The key will be managing to stay in the tie in a testing first leg at City鈥檚 Etihad Stadium early in the New Year.
If they can keep any away-day deficit down to manageable proportions, Johnson鈥檚 young, eager outfit could cause a few problems in the return at their tight Bristol fortress.
The exultant scenes that greeted Korey Smith鈥檚 93rd-minute winner would, reckoned Johnson, 鈥渓ive in the memory of this football club for many years鈥.
His father Gary was one of Bristol City鈥檚 more successful managers when Lee was a player at the club. 鈥淏ut I think tonight was the greatest moment in both of our tenures,鈥 reckoned Johnson, whose team are pushing for promotion in third place.
鈥淢y dad always says he was the most successful Bristol City manager so maybe I鈥檝e pushed him a little bit close with that result. The players have been phenomenal. It鈥檚 a young group with real quality and energy and every single one of them will go down in the folklore of Bristol City football club.鈥
None more so than Joe Bryan, a popular Bristolian and product of the club鈥檚 academy, whose wonderful second-half strike had put City ahead before Zlatan Ibrahimovic鈥檚 equalizing free kick looked likely to inspire a United comeback win.
Still, the hosts kept believing and were rewarded by Smith鈥檚 superbly taken left-foot winner on the turn in the final seconds.
Mourinho, while praising Bristol City for playing 鈥渢he game of their lives鈥, could not quite bring himself to offer unqualified admiration as he kept suggesting the home side was 鈥渓ucky鈥 to survive with Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rashford hitting the woodwork.
Yet the Portuguese understood this was Bristol City鈥檚 night, 鈥渁 beautiful night for football鈥.
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