Liam Manning joked that he had aged ten years watching his City team defend for their lives to beat impressive Sunderland in the Sky Bet Championship.
Tommy Conway’s 20th-minute penalty, after Taylor Gardner-Hickman was tripped by Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson, proved enough to settle a hugely competitive game at Ashton Gate.
Play-off hopefuls Sunderland dominated for long periods of the second half but could find no way past inspired City keeper Max O’Leary, who made brilliant saves to keep out two Luke O’Nien headers and one from substitute Jobe Bellingham.
Head coach Manning said: “Max was outstanding, not just with his saves but the composure he showed under pressure.
“I’ve aged 10 years watching the game but I’m delighted for the lads because of the togetherness and spirit they showed.
“We have played better, but despite defending for long periods we were always a threat and had chances to extend the lead.
“I have a terrific group of players and, while there is room for them to develop, they lack nothing in effort.
“In a tough league like the Championship, you cannot afford to get too high when you win or too down when you lose.
“What the fans want to see above all is a team putting bodies on the line and giving 100 per cent. There could be no complaints on that score today.
“The commitment to block shots and stop crosses was fantastic. It had to be because Sunderland played well, particularly in the second half.
“Still, I felt we were always capable of catching them on the break. Anis Mehmeti has hit a post and Harry Cornick was through on goal after going on as a substitute.”
Sunderland were caught playing out from the back for the penalty, having survived a previous scare doing the same, and interim coach Mike Dodds was understandably frustrated.
“My anger is mainly directed at a mad 15 minutes in the first half when we invited Bristol City to take the lead,” he said.
“Apart from the penalty incident, there were three or four other lapses that went unpunished and it gave them impetus.
“If I had seen that sort of sloppiness in training, the players concerned wouldn’t have been in the team.
“I haven’t seen it from the team before and don’t want to again. There were words spoken about it at half-time.
“We completely controlled the second half and created chances without taking them. I can live with that, but what happened in the first half was unacceptable.
“Their keeper has made some good saves, but at times our finishing could have been better.”
Of his own situation, Dodds added: “The club have been great in communicating with me and the ball is firmly in their court over what happens next.
“Whoever becomes the next head coach will inherit a fantastic dressing room at a club definitely on the up.”
The hosts hit a post in the first half through Mehmeti’s curling shot but had to survive several Sunderland penalty appeals during a backs-to-the-wall second half.
Playing towards their 2,600 travelling fans, the visitors applied constant pressure, only to be denied by O’Leary and some committed last-ditch defending.
Cornick had a great chance to settle the outcome when breaking clear, but the hosts were hanging on at the end before celebrating three hard-earned points.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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