BRISTOL – Pep Guardiola saw his Manchester City side pushed hard before defeating second-tier Bristol City in an entertaining League Cup semi-final on Tuesday to leave him one game away from winning his first major trophy in English football.
Guardiola’s runaway Premier League leaders won 3-2 on the night for a 5-3 aggregate win over the Championship side. The team kicked off with a narrow advantage at Ashton Gate after a 2-1 first-leg win at the Etihad Stadium.
Goals either side of half time effectively saw Manchester City to a win on Tuesday and success over the two legs. Bristol City were undaunted with Marlon Pack pulling a goal back in the 64th minute before Aden Flint scored deep into stoppage time.
Manchester City will now face the winners of Wednesday’s Emirates Stadium semi-final between their Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley on February 25, with the two London clubs deadlocked at 0-0 after a first leg stalemate.
“We are so happy to be there, to reach this final,” said 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.
“We played an amazing game until 2-0 and then we lost control, these type of games never end until the end,” Guardiola said.
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