Bristol City owner relishes ‘exciting’ Man U draw
>> LONDON: Championship side Bristol City’s reward for eliminating three Premier League teams in this season’s League Cup is a home quarter-final with holders Manchester United.
Manager Lee Johnson’s City, who thrashed Crystal Palace 4-1 on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 1989, learnt about their dream draw two hours later than planned due to a glitch at Twitter Headquarters where the event was being held.
“The EFL has received an apology from Twitter UK for the delay which is believed to have occurred as a result of a faulty encoder,” read a statement from the English Football League (EFL).
“The EFL has requested a full explanation into the events that led to this afternoon’s unacceptable delay.”
Bristol City’s owner Steve Lansdown, who jokingly tweeted with regard to the delayed draw “have the clocks gone back already”, was delighted with the outcome.
“We are playing one of the greats of the game, it’s a very exciting prospect,” he told Sky Sports News.
“I think all of football will be behind us. We are the smallest club left in the competition.
“We will dream about beating Manchester United, we will plan to beat Manchester United and only time will tell.
“It will be a great night and even if the draw was a little bit of a late affair, the result is great for us.”
The rest of the draw sees Premier League leaders Manchester City, who scraped into the last eight beating Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers on penalties, travel to Leicester City.
Champions Chelsea host Bournemouth whilst there is an appetising London derby with struggling West Ham United bidding to secure their second North London giant scalp having come from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 on Wednesday as they travel to Arsenal.
The delayed draw was just the latest in a series of blunders to affect the competition.
Earlier draws had seen Charlton Athletic pulled out of the hat twice, confusion over which teams were at home and away, and criticism over the decision to hold the draw in Beijing.
DRAW
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Arsenal v West Ham
Leicester v Manchester City
Bristol City v Manchester United
Ties to be played week beginning Dec 18