Inspired substitution Omar Marmoush was the difference in an all-Premier League tie, as Manchester City’s comeback victory at Bournemouth sees Guardiola’s side win 2-1, booking a ticket to Wembley for the semi-finals of the Emirates FA Cup.
Disaster From The Spot!
Despite starting the faster of the two sides, Bournemouth found themselves at an early disadvantage after Tyler Adams was deemed to have handled the ball inside the area.
Heroics in the early stages saw Kepa Arrizabalaga comfortably catch Erling Haaland’s spot-kick, a confident catch to the Chelsea loanee’s left.
With chances galore for the Norwegian, a miscommunication from the home side saw Haaland break through the Cherries’ backline before his chip attempt spurned agonizingly over the bar.
Evanilson Opens The Scoring!
The Manchester City talisman quickly regretted these missed chances as Justin Kluivert got a foot to David Brooks, punishing Guardiola’s men as Evanilson got ahead of the City defence to open the scoring at The Vitality.
Iraola’s side with one foot in the semi-finals, the home side took control of the latter stages of the first half as the Premier League Champions struggled to break down their opposition.
Manchester City Respond After The Break
Struggling after falling behind, Pep Guardiola quickly regrouped his side while introducing Manchester-born youngster Nico O’Reilly at the expense of Abdukodir Khusanov – and the youngster was a spark to Manchester City’s resurgence.
Chances came for the Citizens after Foden’s attempt after dancing through the Bournemouth midfield was calmly collected by the Bournemouth shot-stopper – but the Spaniard’s efforts were halted after a surging run from O’Reilly saw the youngster deliver an inch-perfect ball into Haaland’s path, City’s number nine making no mistake of the finish.
Asserting their dominance, substitutions in the 61st minute saw the goal-scorer make way for January arrival Omar Marmoush. The Egyptian’s impact was immediately made clear after clever interplay around Bournemouth’s box saw O’Reilly’s pass find Marmoush who calmly beat Arrizabalaga.
Bournemouth Fall Flat
After an excellent first-half performance, Iraola’s side failed to maintain the same levels of performance against a revived Manchester City side.
With their own role of the dice, Iraola introduced the likes of Dango Outtara, Alex Scott, James Hill, and Daniel Jebbision to help spur a fight back.
But despite the fourth official signaling for seven additional minutes, it still was not enough as Bournemouth failed to register an attempt at goal in the second half of the match with their opposition in cruise control, as James McAtee was unlucky not to put the game to bed after forcing an instinctive save.
Denying the possibility of an upset, Manchester City emerged 2-1 victors, progressing to the semi-finals of the FA Cup where they will face Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest at Wembley.
On the other hand, Iraola’s Cherries will turn their full attention to their push for European football in what has been a historic season for the South Coast side in the top half of the Premier League.
Won From The Bench
Pep Guardiola’s use of substitutes has come to serve him again in the FA Cup after Nico O’Reilly was able to set up both Haaland and Marmoush’s goals – the latter scoring after being introduced two minutes prior.
These adjustments in the second half proved crucial in securing passage to the FA Cup semi-finals.
Here’s How Bournemouth Lined Up:
- Arrizabalaga (Keeper)
- Cook (Captain)
- Zabarnyi
- Senesi
- Soler
- Christie
- Adams
- Brooks
- Kluivert
- Semenyo
- Evanilson
And the substitutes for AFC Bournemouth:
- Dennis
- Scott
- Outtara
- Smith
- Scott
- Jebbison
- Dennis
- Akinmboni
- Winterburn
Here’s how Manchester City lined up:
- Ederson (keeper)
- Gvardiol
- Dias
- Khusanov
- Nunes
- Gündoğan
- Foden
- De Bruyne
- Silva
- Haaland
And the substitutes for Manchester City:
- O’Reilly
- Marmoush
- Grealish
- McAtee
- Gonzalez
- Ortega
- Lewis
- Reis
- Doku