It’s not often you can come away from a 3-0 defeat and feel as though there are plenty of positives to take from it, yet the emotions around Ashton Gate after Tuesday’s loss at the hands of Manchester City weren't of anger or frustration, but pride.
For around 70 minutes, Bristol City gave the Premier League champions a real game and it only took moments of brilliance from Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne to show the difference in levels between the two sides.
While the 12-game unbeaten run has now been curtailed, the fact the Bristol City players felt deflated by the result showed how far the group had come, as Nigel Pearson stated after the tie.
The City supporters stood by their team and created the sort of atmosphere that can pull a team through a match and were rewarded for their vocal support with a performance full of passion and effort.
Despite the result it was a special night for all those inside the packed Ashton Gate and perhaps that sort of spectacle can act as a reminder of the ultimate Premier League ambition to be welcoming the likes of Manchester City to South Bristol every other week.
That for now does remain an ambition, but Pearson did mention the possibility of a play-off place and if the Robins maintain their momentum who knows what may happen. Before that however, here are the moments missed from an electric night at Ashton Gate.
Alex Scott vs De Bruyne
In the lead up to the game, most of the focus was on Alex Scott, with Roy Keane and Ian Wright both namechecking City’s star boy during ITV’s pre-match coverage, with Wright saying, “they have got such high hopes for him, not only here at Bristol City but in the England setup as well with how good he is".
But if those not supporting the Robins were appreciative of the 19-year-old’s talents, the carnival like atmosphere created by those donning the red and white scarfs inside Ashton Gate certainly showed their love.
After a couple of early dribbles from the ‘Guernsey Grealish’ there were multiple renditions of “his name is Alex Scott and he is so wonderful,” and there were even slightly tongue in cheek remarks as De Bruyne blazed a strike over the bar of “You’re just a [swear word that would indicate him being a lesser version of] Alex Scott.”
While both De Bruyne and Foden demonstrated their immense talent, Scott didn’t look out of place whatsoever amongst the Citizen’s midfield and social media has been awash with people praising the midfielder’s display. There was even a nod from Guardiola after the game, when asked who stood out for the Robins, “the young lad Scott is young, young talent.”
Kalas man to man with former teammate
There was a time where Tomas Kalas and De Bruyne shared a changing room, with both spending time at Chelsea early in their careers and they were reunited as they faced off on the Ashton Gate pitch.
Midway through the second half, the horizontal frame of the Czech Republic centre-back denied the Belgian’s effort before rising to head over Riyad Mahrez’s volley in what was one of many impressive moments of defensive excellence from Kalas who looked back to his best.
What the eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed was that the 29-year-old defender was tasked with marking De Bruyne in the opposition's defensive half from goal kicks, in a slightly surprising tactical decision.
“The way they set up, they would always overcome our press if I wasn’t ready to go for Kevin,” explained Kalas.
“I believed in the boys at the back that if they go one vs one, they’re going to win most of their duels, so I could’ve gone to Kevin and press him and at least make it more uncomfortable for him. I would say for most of the game it was working at least to eliminate all the power that he’s got.”
Pearson also commended the former Chelsea man’s adaptability in a different role. “I thought our players were really brave in that regard and dealing with their rotation and how fluid they can be," he said. "Tomas was really good and so, here on in, I hope he can replicate those types of performances.”
Pearson and Mahrez reunited
It feels a long time ago that Riyad Mahrez was an unknown quality amongst Pearson’s Leicester City side and the Algerian winger has had a monumental rise since winning Premier League titles with both the Foxes and Manchester City.
The pair met each other in the first half when Mahrez won a free kick just outside the Bristol City technical area, only for Pearson to grab his arm and pull him in close and share a couple of words in jest to which he replied with a smile.
Cam Pring and Sam Bell had their defensive work cut out for them as the 32-year-old was at his silky best, creating three chances, including Phil Foden’s opener, and it’s testament to Pring’s performance that it was only three.
It’s safe to say that there is no animosity between the pair with a long chat being shared in front of the tunnel after the final whistle, both City fans and Pearson will be hoping that the signing of Anis Mehmeti will be a similar success story to that of Mahrez.
Old and new boys watch on
It was slightly surprising that in his post-match press-conference, Guardiola remarked that he expected Mehmeti to start on the left wing, having not realised the Albanian forward was cup-tied after playing for Wycombe Wanderers earlier in the competition. He instead was watching on with the players who were either injured on not selected.
But as well Mehmeti and Harry Cornick watching on, there were plenty of old faces tuning in around the world and sharing that onto their social media platforms, including fan favourite striker Famara Diedhiou who posted a photo of his television with the caption “come on Bristol City”.
Josh Brownhill, now of Burnley, also shared a photo of his living room with the two sets of players walking out of the Ashton Gate tunnel, captioning it “good memories from this game a good few years ago.”
The press room even had a former player from both sides in attendance with David James part of the BBC Radio Manchester’s matchday coverage although disguised in a blue baseball cap. While arguably a legend of even greater standing for both clubs was stationed in the Ashton Gate legends bar, with Shaun Goater enjoying the hospitality life in South Bristol.
Goater scored 40 times in 75 games for the Robins and found the net on 84 occasions for Manchester City, but now in his role as the Sky Blues youth coach, we suspect his allegiance may have been slightly swayed to the away team.
Commentator Jonathan Pearce and broadcaster Angus Scott, both big City fans, were also mixing business with pleasure as they worked in the Lansdown Stand.
The Robins not the only High-Flying Birds in attendance
There are few celebrity football fans as passionate about their clubs than Noel Gallagher and his beloved Manchester City and the Oasis songwriter and solo artist was in attendance at Ashton Gate.
We’re unsure if Gallagher took to his seat early enough to hear the Wurzels' cover of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ echoing round the concourse and stands before kick-off, but it would be interesting to know his thoughts on the version. It’s safe to say he’d have been more impressed by the performance from the away side on the pitch.
The Robins had their own local celebrity supporters inside the Gate, with comedian Mark Watson, actor Joe Sims and Strictly star Jayde Adams all stationed inside the hospitality seats, even if Adams remarked to Points West she was just as keen to quiz Pearson on his ballroom dancing history rather than on the match itself.
SIGN UP: For our daily Robins newsletter, bringing you the latest from Ashton Gate
READ NEXT
