Striker Omar Marmoush scored the winner as Man City came back from a goal down to beat Bournemouth 2-1 on Sunday to book their spot in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, with Erling Haaland having a penalty saved before netting the equaliser.
With Haaland out of sorts and eventually having to be replaced due to an ankle injury, it was Man City’s bench that came to the rescue, as Nico O’Reilly slotted in at left back and changed the complexion of the game before Marmoush, who replaced the injured Haaland, scored the winner.
Haaland, who flashed an early header wide of the target, should have given the visitors the lead in the 14th minute when Bournemouth’s Tyler Adams was penalised for handball in the area. However, Haaland’s effort from the spot was poor and Kepa Arrizabalaga got down smartly to his left to save comfortably.
The Bournemouth goalkeeper was superb in the first half but he had a little help from Haaland’s wayward finishing, the giant Norwegian lifting a chipped effort over the bar two minutes after his penalty miss.
Playing a high-octane pressing game to try to force Man City into making mistakes, Bournemouth took a deserved lead seven minutes later when they won the ball in the opposition half and striker Evanilson was on hand to bundle it over the line from close range.
Guardiola introduced 20-year-old O’Reilly at the break and he quickly created the chance for Haaland to redeem himself, playing the ball across the face of goal for the Norwegian to slam home at the far post in the 49th minute.
Shortly afterwards Haaland suffered the ankle injury that effectively ended his afternoon, but Marmoush made light of his absence, slotting the ball in two minutes after coming on to secure Man City’s spot in the last four of the competition, where they will meet Nottingham Forest on the weekend of April 26.
Guardiola said that O’Reilly, who set up both goals, would definitely play in the semi-final, and the young midfielder said he was delighted to be able to contribute, despite playing in an unfamiliar position.
“I am just trying my hardest every game and trying to help the team out as much as I can and I’m glad I’ve been able to do that so far… he (Guardiola) was just telling me to run in behind, try and get high, come inside when the winger goes outside and I was just trying to do that,” O’Reilly said.
