Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has said that Bristol City were lucky to have gotten the winner in the quarter finals of the Carabao Cup when they clashed on Wednesday. City ran away 2-1 winners due to a late goal in stoppage time by Korey Smith.
From the start of the game Lee Johnson’s side showed that they were not going to ‘park the bus’ against United. They showed courage and wanted to win the game, and they did. The first half ended in a barren draw but before the hour mark Joe Bryan opened scoring with a left foot shot, sending thousands of fans at Ashton Gate into frenzy.
United responded almost immediately through Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was making his first start since April. Goalkeeper Luke Steele poorly organized his wall and was not ready to handle the Swede’s low free kick. The game seemed like one that would enter extra time, like Leicester City vs. Manchester City on Tuesday. However, Smith netted in stoppage time and the crowd could no longer hold their peace. The fans ran onto the pitch in celebration, taking pictures with the excited team as they match to the semis.
“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.”
For City, lucky or not they deserve their time in the spotlight. They have been in very good form of late and have knocked out four Premier League sides in this tournament already. They face a tough test against Manchester City next month.