The Cityzens must never be written off! After a horrific first half in which Kepa Arrizabalaga stopped Erling Haaland’s penalty and Evanilson punished City with an opener, Pep Guardiola’s brilliant subs kept the Cityzens alive.City looking to shop at Frankfurt againHaaland managed to level only four minutes into the second half – and 12 minutes before his injury – while his replacement, Omar Marmoush, netted the winner in the 63rd minute – 2-1.Still, the utmost hero was Nico O’Reilly, who noted two assists from the bench and thus repeated his fantastic FA Cup performance from the Round of 16 when he netted a brace in a comeback win over Plymouth.The FA Cup semi-finals are set 🏟️Man City complete the line-up after beating Bournemouth 2-1 to reach Wembley! pic.twitter.com/4TkmgmBYIW— Premier League (@premierleague) March 30, 2025 The opening half of the last FA Cup quarter-final was a genuine nightmare for Erling Haaland, as the Norwegian wasted Man City’s two best chances in the first half.Fourteen minutes into the game, the Cityzens were awarded a penalty following Tyler Adams’ reckless handball. Yet, Kepa Arrizabalaga “read Haaland’s mind” and brilliantly stopped his effort! Just two minutes later, the striker had another colossal chance, only this time, he sent the ball over the bar.And after such misses, Bournemouth awaited an opportunity to punish Pep Guardiola’s lads, and their net-buster Evanilson used it, putting his team in front in the 21st minute. Probably shocked by the Cherries’ lead, the visitors hardly threatened until the break, awaiting it with a one-goal deficit.Nevertheless, Haaland wouldn’t be one of the best strikers in today’s football, if he didn’t know how to leave the past behind! Guardiola made a terrific move, subbing in Nico O’Reilly for the booked Abdukodir Khusanov at the break, and the youngster assisted for the Norwegian’s 49th-minute equalizer, which returned the game back to the beginning.Yet, Haaland’s today’s ups and downs ended in the 61st minute, as he had to leave the pitch for an injury, being replaced by Omar Marmoush. But City’s performance didn’t suffer – on the contrary, the Egyptian scored only two minutes upon entering the match, and once again Pep’s super sub O’Reilly assisted!##NAJAVA_MECA_8814319##After gambling away the advantage, Andoni Iraola’s men were pretty nervous, earning two yellow cards, but had no clue how to jeopardize the visitors’ lead. The Cityzens were close to scoring the third over James McAtee in the dying minutes, but can still be satisfied with the 2-1 triumph, which keeps them in the mix for a trophy in this pretty abysmal season.In the FA Cup semi-finals, Guardiola’s team will face Nottingham Forest, while Crystal Palace and Aston Villa will lock horns in the other duel.FA CUP – QUARTER-FINALSSaturday Fulham – Crystal Palace 0-3 (0-2)/Eze 34, Sarr 38, Nketiah 75/Brighton – Nott. Forest 0-0 3-4 on penSunday Preston – Aston Villa 0-3 (0-0)/Rashford 58, 63 pen, Ramsey 71/Bournemouth – Man.City 1-2 (1-0)/Evanilson 21 – Haaland 49, Marmoush 63/
