Liam Manning simply had to come out on top against his former side Oxford United yesterday.

There was a lot of talk about Oxford and Manning before the game, with the U’s supporters finding it hard to forgive Manning for making the move to Ashton Gate last season.

The Championship new boys’ 2023/24 season could have been derailed by his departure, but Des Buckingham was able to build on Manning’s work and guided them to promotion from League One, via the play-offs.

And Oxford have made a very respectable start to this season, with wins against Norwich City, Preston North End and Stoke City allowing them to build up enough points to secure a place in the top half of the second tier for now.

The Robins, before yesterday’s game, desperately needed more points on the board following a fairly underwhelming start to the 2024/25 campaign.

And the pressure on Manning was cranked up a notch when Oxford fans arrived in town.

Before the game and during the early stages of the match, the U’s away following gave him a lot of stick and after Sinclair Armstrong missed a golden chance, Ruben Rodrigues capitalised by putting the visitors 1-0 up.

Siriki Dembele, who performed well again yesterday, came close to doubling their lead just before the break, as he rattled the Robins’ crossbar.

All in all, it was a miserable first half for Manning, who saw his side waste chances and concede whilst standing in very heavy rain.

Liam Manning has Mark Harris moment to thank for Bristol City’s win v Oxford United

Dembele’s thunderbolt can’t be seen as a sliding doors moment, because it was always going to be difficult to score from there and the fact he managed to hit the crossbar is impressive.

The sliding doors moment came courtesy of Mark Harris, who has been in great form so far this season, scoring four goals in the U’s opening six league games of the 2024/25 season.

During the early stages of the second half, a good Oxford move resulted in Harris having the chance to tap in Ruben Rodrigues’ low cross from a couple of yards.

Somehow, he missed the target, and not long after, the hosts equalised at Ashton Gate through Sinclair Armstrong.

Unfortunately for Oxford, the Robins scored again in the 76th minute through Nahki Wells’ penalty, with Harris judged to have tripped Haydon Roberts in the box.

The U’s didn’t give up after that, but they couldn’t prevent a loss and Manning will breathe a huge sigh of relief.

The potential ramifications after Liam Manning’s Bristol City win

According to Football Insider, Manning was under pressure before yesterday’s game and that’s no surprise, considering they had won just five points from their opening five league games of the season.

They had some winnable games during that period that they failed to capitalise on, but yesterday’s victory allowed them to move up to 13th for the time being.

That isn’t a bad position – and the Robins’ recent win could have helped Manning to save his job.

This win should also give City’s boss a real spring in his step.

He would have thought about the game a lot had Oxford won – and it would have been so damaging to his morale – because it would have been a humiliation for him.

But after yesterday’s game, he can kick on now and build on what was a much-needed 2-1 win.

His side had chances to score more than two goals and that’s encouraging, but they need to ensure that they are defending well too.

If they can reduce the amount of chances they are conceding and continue to look a threat going forward, the Robins will be more than fine.

They showed promise yesterday, but the hosts could have easily lost that game 2-0 and they will know that.

Now is the time for them to use this game to start a promising run, but whether they can secure a point or three against Swansea City next weekend remains to be seen.