Man City go through to Carabao Cup final v Arsenal
Bristol City 2-3 Manchester City (Agg 3-5) EFL Cup semi-final second leg
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has high hopes of completing a "Wembley hat-trick" next month in the EFL Cup Final 2018 on February 25 after City's quadruple ambitions were kept alive by going through to the clash against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final after Guardiola's mighty men secured a 3-2 (5-3 aggregate) victory against Championship club Bristol City at Ashton Gate on Tuesday. City will now face Arsenal who defeated Chelsea. The League Cup final is held at Wembley, a stadium that holds special memories for Guardiola after his former Spanish La Liga side Barcelona were crowned Kings of Europe as they took home the Champions League crown there twice during his time at Barca. Guardiola played in Barcelona's first European Cup success at the old Wembley in 1992, and he was the manager when they beat Manchester United at the new Wembley stadium in 2011.
"It is a special place for my career, as a football player I won in the old Wembley when Barcelona won the Champions League for the first time," Guardiola said. "I also won there as a manager, but it is not just special for me. It is special for all of us at Manchester City. We are so happy to be in the final, it is an achievement for everybody." Through City's Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero the titan first place Premier League club dominated the match with goals on either side of the break. But Bristol City's Marlon Pack and Aden Flint leveled to send the sold-out crowd of 26,000 fans at Ashton Gate into rapture. Kevin De Bruyne, however, managed to score the winner as he restored City's lead on the night with the final kick of the match. Pep said he was not sure if England defender Kyle Walker had a broken nose after receiving a kick to his face late on. "I think we played amazing in the first half, but we lost control," said Guardiola after the win.
"Last season we were in the semi-final of the FA Cup and I am delighted to be in the final. It is a competition which demands a lot and takes a lot of energy when you are playing Premier League and other matches," said Guardiola. "It is tough on your mentality, but once we arrive in the semi-final we have to try and get to the final. I am pleased to be there and hopefully, we will arrive in a good condition." Pep Guardiola was delighted for his side after the 3-2 win over Bristol City saw them progress to the Carabao Cup final. Guardiola hopes that success in the Carabao Cup will take Man City up to "another level". Guardiola's side beat Bristol City 3-2 on Tuesday night to secure a 5-3 aggregate victory over two legs of their semi-final tie to gain a spot in the final. The Man City boss now has the chance to win his first trophy with Man City, but said that the team's 3rd Carabao Cup in 5 campaigns would be more important for his players than him personally. "It's not for me, it's for Manchester City to try and reach another level," said Guardiola. "In the past, Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini achieved that and we have to try and keep going for that level. The important thing for me is to be there and keep going in every game. We have a final against Cardiff and we're going to continue in the FA Cup and try to keep going in the Premier League as well."
Guardiola's side let go of a 2-0 lead at Ashton Gate, but a late Kevin De Bruyne goal at the end of the clash earned a victory over the Championship side. And the Man City boss said his men learned ahead of their FA Cup clash with Cardiff next week and their trip to Basel for a Champions League match in February. "We're so happy to be there and for everyone involved at the club to reach this final," added Guardiola. "We played an amazing game until 2-0 and then we lost control, and in these kinds of games, it's never easy until the end. But it will be a good lesson for us next Sunday in Cardiff and especially in the Champions League, in these kinds of situations to play for 90 minutes. In the first half, we missed the last pass and we couldn't be more precise with more accuracy. We should have scored three or four goals and at 2-2 with a minute or two left anything could have happened." At the mention the word 'quadruple', Pep Guardiola's response three weeks ago to the possibility of Manchester City winning on four separate fronts as an "illusion". Barca fans remember how happy Pep was as he wept tears of joy while the world was watching in 2009 when his amazing Barcelona side won every trophy they could in a calendar year. The thought of his Manchester City side winning four major trophys in a single season is surely his secret goal.
Guardiola was interviewed after City's comfortable win over Newcastle United. "This midweek was the first week since August we had a long week," Guardiola noted following City's 3-1 victory, which had come six full days after their last outing, the 4-3 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield. "If you go through, that is not going to happen again until the end of the season." Even if the City manager says that winning four trophies this campaign is "unrealistic", the excellence that his football players show in every match, may change his mind. While continuing to make light of quadruple hopes, Guardiola stated that he would need "32 players to play well in 4 competitions". That is the current size of City's senior squad is 24, even when including long-term absentee Benjamin Mendy and youngsters Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz.
Squads
Manchester City
Bravo; Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, Silva, Bernardo; De Bruyne, Sane, Aguero Subs: Ederson, Danilo, Kompany, Sterling, Gundogan, Mangala, Yaya Toure
Bristol City
Steele; Smith, Flint, Wright, Magnusson; Brownhill, Pack, Walsh, Bryan; Paterson; Reid Subs: Wollocott, Baker, Diedhiou, Taylor, Engvall, Eliasson, Kent
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