CITY have reached the quarter finals of the Carabao English Football League Cup for the first time since 1988 after a rampant 4-1 win over Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace.
It was a memorable night at Ashton Gate as City came from a goal down to win emphatically.
An impressive crowd of nearly 22,000 packed into the ground to witness Hodgson’s men capitulate on a mild autumn evening.
Palace were the brighter side in the opening 20 minutes and I feared the worse when they took a deserved lead through Sako after 21 minutes.
Four days earlier, City had made a sluggish start against Leeds United and paid the price in a heavy 3-0 defeat.
But instead of crumbling, City grew into the game, helped by the introduction of long-term injury absentee Djuric who replaced the injured Diedhiou on the half hour mark.
Just a few minutes after the Bosnian’s introduction, Taylor equalised, taking advantage of a misjudged header by a Palace defender.
There was plenty more sloppy Palace defending to come and just before half-time, Djuric was the man to benefit.
A long throw from Magnusson saw Palace fail to clear their lines and Djuric was able to fire in City’s second.
From this point on, the south Londoners fell apart. On the hour mark, Joe Bryan scored with a sublime left-footed effort from outside the area.
Then, Callum O’Dowda finally scored his first goal for the club with a cracking half-volley from 25 yards.
City now have a great chance of drawing one of the likes of Manchester City or United, Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham in the quarter finals. A big tie is the least we deserve.
This Saturday, City return to league action with a trip to Sunderland to face The Black Cats at the Stadium of Light (3pm) before a visit to play Fulham on Halloween next Tuesday (7.45pm).
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