Another thing that scares me is when Man United play against a team from the lower divisions. The scare obviously always come in domestic cup competitions, or where else could the Red Devils meet a lower league side? Anytime we about to play a so called smaller team from the lower tiers of the English football the 1 nil loss to Leeds at Old Trafford on the 4th of January 2010 comes to mind. It was the 3rd round of the FA Cup and it is at this stage the so called big boys join the competition. Yes this haunts me always, then I will now remember the 4-0 loss to MK Dons under Dutch man Louis Van Gaal’s tutelage. Though the loss to MK Dons was in the 2nd round it never really crosses my mind, maybe because the Leeds game was bigger (there’s this rivalry between Man Utd and Leeds). By way I remember the Dons game was the first time I saw Dele Alli play.
The gist of the day is the quarter final game of the Carabao Cup (they have changed the name of this tournament more times than I have had a hair cut) where Bristol City played host to my beloved Manchester United. Not much confidence going into this one for me as I have stated earlier that lower division sides give me the chills in games like this. It is a game I would love the Red Devils to win and ultimately win the trophy because these days even the Community Shield is a biggie. We the fans want to have something to brag about when the season ends. We all know or let me speak for myself, I know Man City has won the league, but those monsters are still in this competition too. Sigh.
Jose Mourinho decided to finally give Zlatan Ibrahimovic his first start this season and he was also named captain. He went for an attack of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford supporting Zlatan on the left and right side. The first half was quite interesting and Bristol panicked the United defence a couple of times. Ibrahimovic and Rashford however hit the bar in what was obviously Man U’s best chances of scoring. It was good end to end stuff if you ask me but I hate it when my team doesn’t score in the first half (who likes it? Lol). The first half ended goalless.
The second half kicked off with Bristol City playing with more purpose. The Bristol fans didn’t have to wait too long to celebrate. A cracker a 51st minute from Joe Bryan made my beer taste sour. It was a well worked goal and Bristol deserved it to be honest. Then United took it from there pressing hard for an equaliser. A 58th minute freekick by Ibrahimovic couldn’t be stopped by the Bristol City wall or their goalkeeper as it zoomed passed them with a speed only Rafael Nadal’s left hand service could contend with to draw United level. Game on.
A 92nd minute goal by Korey Smith who had been a threat all night (I see things differently) sealed victory for Bristol City knocking Man U out of the league cup. 2-1 the game ended. Did I mention the Red Devils were defending champions? Well nothing to defend anymore. It is looking like Manchester United is going from Treble (last season) to Trophyless this season.
Bristol City face Manchester City in the semi-final come January. Arsenal would be up against Chelsea in the second semi-final game. I guess it’s a good thing my Man U is out. My prediction for the final is Manchester City versus Chelsea.
Thanks for stopping by guys. I can’t wait for the long weekend. BLESS !!!
When we visited the City of Bristol
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