Bristol City dumps holders Man Utd out of League Cup
LONDON: English Championship side Bristol City dumped Manchester United out of the League Cup on Thursday, scoring with seconds remaining to beat the holders 2-1 as Chelsea also progressed to after a softish-looking free-kick awarded for a foul on Paul Pogba in a central position.
Manager Jose Mourinho threw on even more attackers as he pushed for victory, with Romelu Lukaku replacing Daley Blind while Henrikh Mkhitaryan came on for Ibrahimovic.
But despite pressure from the away side, Bristol held their nerve, taking advantage of some sloppy defensive play from United to score deep into injury time through Smith, who burst into the area, chested the ball down and finished coolly with his left foot.
United surged forward for one last push but it was too late and at the final whistle joyous fans streamed onto the pitch.
‘Unbelievable’
“Unbelievable, I don’t know what to say,” said matchwinner Smith. “We played brilliantly like we have all season. I wasn’t being tracked when I made the runs forward, I was gutted with the one in the to be fair.
“I joined when we were in League One with three stands. We have been brilliant this season.”
- eral Pogba back into the side after the three- match suspension he picked up against Arsenal earlier this month and Ibrahimovic, 36, knee ligaments in April.
Mourinho said Bristol were lucky but praised them for their performance.
“They played brilliantly, they fought like it was the game of their lives which probably it was,” he said. “A beautiful day for football. A team from the lower division won. A big day for them.
intensity that they had. Physically and mentally. It was one more day that some of them didn’t even
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea took an early lead through Willian and looked set to coast over the line before a late leveller from Dan Gosling threatened to take the tie into extra time.
But within seconds the home side were back in front as substitute Alvaro Morata sealed their