Following today’s clash between Bristol City and Manchester United, here are the instant reactions from both managers.
Bristol City hosted Manchester United at Ashton Gate for an 8pm kick off on Wednesday December 20 for the League Cup Quarter Finals, with the hosts taking for many what was a shock win.
Joe Bryan gave Lee Johnson’s side the lead in the 51st minute following a goalless first half, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic had United level just ahead of the hour mark.
With neither side making a breakthrough, extra time looked inevitable but Korey Smith hit the back of the net three minutes into stoppage time to put them through to the Semi Final stage for the first time since 1988-89.
Teams:
Bristol City:
Steele, Wright, Flint, Baker, Magnusson (Taylor 69), Brownhill (Eliasson 74), Pack, Smith, Bryan, Paterson, Reid.
Substitutes:
Fielding, Kelly, Vyner, Garita, Lemonheigh-Evans.
Man Utd:
Romero, Lindelof, Rojo, Blind (Lukaku 61), Darmian (Smalling 90+5), McTominay, Pogba, Shaw, Rashford, Ibrahimovic (Mkhitaryan 69), Martial.
Substitutes:
Mata, Lingard, Herrera, Castro Pereira.
Speaking to the BBC’s cameras a short time after match day referee Mike Dean blew the final whistle, Bristol City manager Lee Johnson explained.
‘It’s an overwhelming feeling of pride, to beat Manchester United is incredible. They are a special group. It has been a long time since we had a result like that at Ashton Gate. The lads didn’t want to go into extra time and the scenes that winner set off were unbelievable. My dad always says he’s the most successful Bristol City manager so I have maybe pushed him close tonight! You don’t want a pitch invasion but I’m sure everyone appreciates the passion in that result. I don’t think many fans will be turning up for work tomorrow, they’ll be on the cider.’
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho in his comparative interview explained.
‘They were a bit lucky but they fought a lot to be lucky. Everyone was waiting for our goal so they were lucky. We hit the post twice. But they played brilliantly, they fought like it was the game of their lives which probably it was. A beautiful day for football. A team from the lower division won. A big day for them. In the first half we lacked the intensity that they had. Physically and mentally. It was one more day in the office for my players, a day that some of them didn’t even want to come to he office.’
