Man City dispatch Bristol to reach EFL Cup final

Manchester City defeated second-division side Bristol City 3-2 in the second leg of the EFL Cup semifinal to prevail 5-3 on aggregate and claim a spot in the final, where they will face either Arsenal or Chelsea.

Though the Premier League leaders started with a 2-1 advantage after the first leg in Manchester, coach Pep Guardiola on Tuesday fielded a line-up of starters in pursuit of his first trophy since taking the reins of the English club in 2016, reports Efe.

Bristol kept a clean sheet for 43 minutes before Leroy Sane exploited a poor clearance to put Man City ahead 1-0 for the night and 3-1 overall.

Sergio Agüero settled the matter four minutes into the second half, scoring on the counter to boost the visitors' advantage to three goals.

Undaunted, the hosts battled on and Marlon Pack connected just short of the hour mark to narrow the gap, while Aden Flint scored in the 94th minute to leave Bristol trailing by just one.

But the Robins failed to pull level and Kevin de Bruyne's goal on the final play of the match completed the 5-2 triumph for the Manchester club, whose fans are dreaming of the quadruple: Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.

--IANS

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