Manchester City 2-1 Bristol City

Sergio Aguero scored an injury-time winner as Manchester City came from behind to beat Bristol City in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

The Championship side were excellent, especially in the first half, and led from Bobby Reid's penalty, awarded after John Stones chopped down the Robins player.

But Kevin de Bruyne equalised for the unbeaten Premier League leaders after a one-two with Raheem Sterling.

And as the underdogs looked set to take a draw and an away goal back to Bristol for the second leg, substitute Aguero headed in Bernardo Silva's cross.

But Bristol City - who knocked out their hosts' neighbours Manchester United in the previous round - produced a performance that will give them encouragement for the return at Ashton Gate on Tuesday, 23 January (19:45 GMT).

Heartbreak for brave Bristol City

Lee Johnson's Bristol City have had a season to remember. As well as challenging for promotion to the top flight, they have beaten four Premier League sides on their run to the last four - Watford, Stoke, Crystal Palace and famously United in the quarter-finals.

Impressively in a season where many Premier League sides have adopted defensive tactics against Manchester City, who are yet to lose a domestic game all season, the Robins played some brave, risky attacking football.

Joe Bryan had a shot saved by Claudio Bravo at his near post and then Marlon Pack's 20-yard shot from Oleksandr Zinchenko's clearance was straight at the keeper.

They deserved to lead when Josh Brownhill won the ball off Eliaquim Mangala and played in Reid, who was brought down by Stones' mistimed tackle.

The Robins were more subdued in the second half, but almost scored a famous winner when debutant Liam Walsh fired wide from the corner of the box late on. And he was made to regret that miss all the more when Aguero popped up seconds from the end.

Man City far from vintage - but win again

Pep Guardiola's side are still in contention for four trophies this season, with the Premier League looking all but won given their 15-point lead over Manchester United.

The Catalan named a strong line-up, although he started with no recognised striker and Sterling playing centrally. And for the second time in three days his side came back from 1-0 down to win, having knocked Burnley out of the FA Cup 4-1 on Saturday.

Their early attempts were kept out by solid Robins defending, although they almost led when De Bruyne's shot was tipped over by keeper Frank Fielding.

Then, after Mangala and Stones were both at fault for the visitors' converted penalty, the hosts thought they had levelled only for Sterling's chip over Fielding to be sensationally headed off the goalline by Aden Flint.

But Manchester City have demonstrated a fierce will to win this season and they kept pushing for a goal that eventually came from De Bruyne.

The move started with goalkeeper Bravo, who played the ball to the Belgian near the halfway line. De Bruyne charged towards the box and found Sterling, who played a first-time pass back to the playmaker to belt the ball home from 16 yards out.

As so often this season, Manchester City found a last-minute goal when they needed it, Aguero heading in Silva's cross from close range.

The champions elect are now unbeaten in 33 domestic games, a run stretching back to April.

Man of the match - Aden Flint (Bristol City)

Match stats - Bristol City set attendance record

Bristol City sold out their allocation of 7,680 - the highest away attendance at Etihad Stadum in its 15-year history.
Manchester City have reached the final of the League Cup on three of the previous four occasions when winning the semi-final first leg, with the exception being against Manchester United in 2009-10.
The Citizens are unbeaten in their past 32 games in domestic competition (W26 D6), with their last loss coming against Arsenal in the FA Cup in April 2017.
The last team from a lower division to lose a League Cup semi-final first leg against Premier League opposition and still qualify for the final was Birmingham City - against Ipswich in 2000-01 (4-2 on aggregate).
Bristol City have scored more goals than any other team in the League Cup in 2017-18, with 12 of their 17 coming against Premier League opposition.
Three of Sergio Aguero's five goals in the League Cup have been scored in semi-finals (also against West Ham in January 2014 and Everton in January 2016).
Kevin de Bruyne has been directly involved in nine goals in eight appearances for Manchester City in the League Cup (six goals, three assists).
Bobby Reid has scored 10 goals away from home in all competitions this term - only Harry Kane (14), Jack Marriott (13) and Mohamed Salah (11) have scored more among players in the top four tiers.

What's next?

Both clubs are back in league action this weekend.

Premier League leaders Manchester City go to Liverpool on Sunday (16:00 GMT). Fourth-placed Bristol City are at home to Norwich in the Championship on Saturday, 13 January (15:00 GMT).

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

Man City

Formation 4-3-3

1Bravo
3Danilo
5Stones
15Mangala
35ZinchenkoSubstituted forWalkerat 79'minutes
17De Bruyne
42Y TouréSubstituted forAgüeroat 70'minutes
8Gündogan
20Bernardo Silva
7Sterling
19Sané

Substitutes

2Walker
10Agüero
18Delph
24Tosin
25Fernandinho
31Ederson
55Diaz

Bristol City

Formation 4-4-1-1

1Fielding
5Wright
4FlintBooked at 56mins
6Baker
23MagnussonSubstituted forWalshat 72'minutes
8Brownhill
21Pack
7SmithBooked at 58mins
3BryanBooked at 60mins
20Paterson
14Reid

Substitutes

10Taylor
12Walsh
15Steele
16Engvall
19Eliasson
25Kelly
26Vyner

Referee:: Anthony Taylor
Attendance:: 43,426

Match Stats

Home TeamMan CityAway TeamBristol City

Possession: Home68%; Away32%

Shots: Home26; Away8

Shots on Target: Home6; Away3

Corners: Home13; Away5

Fouls: Home8; Away7

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, Manchester City 2, Bristol City 1.
90'+4'
Full Time
Second Half ends, Manchester City 2, Bristol City 1.

90'+2'
Goal!
Goal! Manchester City 2, Bristol City 1. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Bernardo Silva with a cross.
88'
Post update
Attempt missed. Liam Walsh (Bristol City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jamie Paterson.
87'
Post update
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Nathan Baker.
87'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan.
84'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.
84'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Leroy Sané (Manchester City) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Bernardo Silva.
82'
Post update
Attempt missed. Bobby Reid (Bristol City) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Jamie Paterson with a headed pass.
81'
Post update
Corner, Bristol City. Conceded by Eliaquim Mangala.
80'
Post update
Foul by Leroy Sané (Manchester City).
80'
Post update
Aden Flint (Bristol City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
79'
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester City. Kyle Walker replaces Oleksandr Zinchenko.
79'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Sergio Agüero.
77'
Post update
Foul by Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City).
77'
Post update
Marlon Pack (Bristol City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
77'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Danilo (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by John Stones.
75'
Post update
Offside, Bristol City. Aden Flint tries a through ball, but Bobby Reid is caught offside.
74'
Post update
Attempt missed. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Oleksandr Zinchenko.
72'
Substitution
Substitution, Bristol City. Liam Walsh replaces Hördur Bjorgvin Magnusson.

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344 comments

Well played Bristol City.

It says a lot when a Championship side are much braver playing away at Man City than Mediocre United were at home...
I am hoping that Bristol, Derby and Wolves get promoted this year. I think they play a good style of football.

City will have a tough away fixture.
We deserved to win but the manner of it was harsh on Bristol City.

Their approach to that game was better than 90% of the premier league teams we've played, including some of the so-called better Ines.

They played really well and we'll have to do likewise in the 2nd leg.
Supporters of Manchester United who were desperate to comment upon a defeat, can now go back to hiding behind Jose's bus.
Extremely well played Bristol City, by far the best a team played against us.

To praise them I must say they way they played today, didnt watch them againdt Man Utd but i am sure Utd had no chance beating them.

Well done Bristol City, and I am sure Pep praised the effort more than myself.
Well done Bristol City; no shame in that result. Manchester City always seem to find a way to win - much more consistent than in the last few seasons.
See what happens when you have a bit of firepower on the bench just in case Mr Wenger?
Great game to watch , well played Bristol City, I truly doff my cap lads (major respect to their fans also ) Not the easiest place in the world to go to for any side !
So well played also to City , never gave up KDB is a class act every single time he plays IMO ...........hope second leg is a good as the first ,...may the best side prevail ..........Spurs fan in peace BTW
The two best teams to play at the Etihad this season in domestic competitions are Wolves and Bristol City. I really hope they win promotion. Playing like that they will deserve to and have nothing to fear from the Premier League.
Unlucky Bristol City, almost their result of the season. Beating Utd was good, but a draw against a club of city’s stature would have been on a different level.
Why is that so many fans consider last minute goals to be 'lucky'? They're not. What they are is a demonstration of character, determination and a complete self-belief that you can still win/save a game even with seconds to go.
Bristol played a better game than most in the premier league who come to the Etihad. Really great performance, and unlucky to not take something from it. It's no wonder they beat united based on this and the derby.
Superb effort by Bristol City backed up with incredible support.

Watching the game reinforced my long held belief that costly over rated foreign players (eg Mangala) aren’t as good as the public are led to believe . Mangala wasnt a patch on counterparts Flint and Bryan. The only difference is the top managers can’t quite accept that English born championship players could be an option
Well played Bristol City, good team, good manager, good fans = good club. Look forward to the second leg at your place.
I wondered how long it would take before some lemon-sucking armchair rags would appear, spewing their bile. Can't you just be happy to have a seen a good game of football? Of course you can't. They are the gift that just keeps giving, making themselves both hated and the laughing stock of England at the same time. Keep it up, bitters.
Man City 2-1 Bristol City

Conte 1-0 Little Man
As a Liverpool fan...good game tonight enjoyed as a neutral. I am not going to jump on the band wagon about the thousands of empty seats. But would suggest if season ticket holders can't make the game, there should be a scheme the club's are notified and seats offered to kids for free , with a parent who want to see their team and...kids would love it and the chance to see their hero's
Just goes to show !, well played Bristol City !!

Nice to see a team really earning their wages !!
Well done to Bristol. They played well and showed no fear. I thought they deserved a draw but Man City's class got them a win in the end. The tie is not over but it is probable that Guardiola will think a little less about the next game. Toure was a great player but he is now too slow. Congratulations to Bristol for making a good game against higher paid players.
How embarrassing again for so many on here wittering on about empty seats and plastic fans.. Just showing usual lazy ignorance. Funny enough we didn't start as a club in 2008. Of all clubs, Man City, the Man City that filled Maine Rd every week in 3rd tier. We have never claimed to have the biggest fan base. But we are loyal. Our support varies little whether top of prem league or Bury at home.

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