Manchester City on Tuesday reached the League Cup final, shattering Bristol City’s hopes of a remarkable upset, as the Premier League leaders survived a late fightback to win 3-2 and clinch the tie 5-3 on aggregate.
Manchester City appeared to be cruising when goals from Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero either side of halftime put them three goals up overall after a 2-1 win in the first leg, before their plucky opponents dragged themselves back into the game.
Marlon Pack reduced the arrears for the hosts past the hour and Aden Flint scored deep into stoppage-time to make it 2-2, leaving them one goal short of forcing extra-time.
Photo: Reuters
There was time for one more goal, but it was scored by the visitors’ Kevin de Bruyne, leaving Pep Guardiola’s side to face Arsenal or Chelsea in the final on Feb. 25.
Bristol City’s heroics two weeks ago at the Etihad Stadium, where they held on for dear life and only conceded the winner in stoppage-time, would have given fair warning about what to expect at Ashton Gate.
However, if there was a hint of complacency about Manchester City in the first leg, it seemed to have been drummed out of them by kickoff, as they tightened the screw from the first minute.
They barely gave the hosts a kick in the first half, with Sane giving them the lead, and Aguero doubling it four minutes after the break.
There appeared no way back for the hosts until Pack guided a superb header into the corner of the net in the 64th minute.
That lifted the crowd, but did little to change the momentum until three minutes into stoppage-time, when Flint finished from close range off Bobby Reid’s header.
However, the faint trace of hope was wiped out when Sane cut the ball back for De Bruyne to slam home.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was