Manchester City came back from a goal down to beat Bournemouth at the Vitality in the quarterfinal clash between the two sides in the FA Cup, earning a place in the semifinals at Wembley.
It was Evanilson who broke the deadlock in the 21st minute and put the home side ahead, but Erling Haaland equalized with just over three minutes of the second half gone. The final score and City’s victory was the work of substitute Omar Marmoush in the 63rd minute.
Teams
Andoni Iraola had some big names missing from his back line, with the in-demand duo of Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez suspended. The Bournemouth manager also had to make do without right-back Julian Araujo (thigh), winger Luis Sinisterra (hamstring), and striker Enes Unal (knee).
With Kepa Arrizabalaga in goal, Marco Senesi and Julio Soler stepped in to replace the suspended centre-back and left-back, respectively. Lewis Cook and Illia Zabarnyi completed the back four. Ryan Christie paired up with Tyler Adams in deeper midfield, while the trio of David Brooks, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo supported striker Evanilson.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola in the away dugout had defensive issues to work around as well, with John Stones (thigh), Manuel Akanji (abductor), and Nathan Ake (knee) all joining midfielder Rodri (ACL) on the sidelines. Winger Oscar Bobb was back in training and had played at youth level, but he was never likely to be involved at the Vitality.
Ederson Moraes stood between the posts, with Matheus Nunes at right-back, Abdukodir Khusanov joining Ruben Dias in the heart of defence, and Josko Gvardiol on the left. Ilkay Gundogan paired up with Mateo Kovacic in central midfield, while Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva played just behind Erling Haaland in attack.
Brief recap
Bournemouth started well enough, pressing high up the pitch and forcing Ederson into misplaced long passes or risky short balls and turns inside his own penalty area.
However, there was an early warning sign when Haaland missed a great headed chance after ten minutes, just before Adams conceded a penalty. The American was caught with his hand raised as Bernardo Silva attempted to chip the ball into a dangerous area, and there was no protest when referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot.
Fortunately for Adams, Kepa guessed right and denied Haaland from 12 yards. Soon after, another opportunity for Haaland went to waste as he lifted the ball over both Kepa and the bar.
City’s frustration only grew when Evanilson opened the scoring. Matheus Nunes gave away possession with a careless pass inside City’s half, leading to Brooks chipping a cross into the box, where Kluivert met it at the far post. His effort was already heading in, but Evanilson ensured it crossed the line before Khusanov could clear.
Despite City dominating possession, Bournemouth threatened again before halftime when Brooks sent in a teasing delivery that glanced off Ilkay Gundogan’s head and narrowly missed the bottom corner of Ederson’s goal.
At halftime, Pep Guardiola made an impactful change, bringing on Nico O’Reilly for the booked Khusanov, deploying the academy graduate at left-back with license to push forward, and moving Gvardiol to the heart of defence. That switch quickly paid off as O’Reilly found space in Bournemouth’s half and delivered a low cross to the far post, setting up Haaland for an easy finish.
City then took the lead just after the hour mark, with O’Reilly once again at the heart of it. After winning a duel with Semenyo on the edge of the Bournemouth area, he had the awareness to slide a pass into Marmoush’s path. The January signing’s finish was far from perfect, but it still managed to creep under Kepa’s body and into the net.
With Bournemouth running out of energy late in the second half, City looked far more likely to score a third than concede an equalizer. Gundogan struck the post, and Kepa had to react quickly to deny substitute James McAtee from close range.
City’s redemption chance
It’s been an extremely underwhelming season for the reigning Premier League champions, who have not only been knocked out of the Champions League, but they find themselves uncertain to qualify for that competition next term, sitting fifth in the English top-flight table at the moment. That may yet prove sufficient at the end of the season, but there is some way to go yet and looking over their shoulders, they’ll find Newcastle (with a game in hand) and Brighton just one point behind. Their chances of defending the title are truly gone, with leaders Liverpool 22 points ahead.
Therefore, the FA Cup remains the only realistic chance for a trophy for Guardiola and his men this term.
The semifinals will, on one hand, present a difficult challenge as they face Nottingham Forest, who are not only above City in the Premier League standings at the moment, but also beat them at the City Ground earlier this month. On the other hand, maybe that defeat and desire for revenge will prove sufficient motivation for the sky-blues. After all, they were beaten in the league by Bournemouth as well, and now they’ve got some satisfaction against the Cherries.
Speaking of Bournemouth, they’ve been one of the more pleasant surprises of the season in England, but it seems their drive is fading away. They didn’t win any of their last four league outings, earning just one point in that stretch.
Not so long ago, Iraola’s team appeared as serious contenders for Champions League qualification themselves, but now they sit in 10th place, and though only four points separate them from City and five from Chelsea in fourth, it’s worth noting that Newcastle, Brighton, Aston Villa and Fulham are all wedged in between.
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