Manchester City's victory over Bournemouth brought the FA Cup quarter-final weekend to a close, with the title favorites advancing with plenty of scares during the first half. The home side put in a good performance from the start and made it difficult for City to break forward, who were slow to put together good attacking moves.
In the 13th minute, Erling Haaland had the best chance to open the scoring, but he missed his third penalty of the season with a weak shot from the left side, which Kepa saved well. Bournemouth rallied and showed great efficiency to open the scoring in the 20th minute with a great goal by Evanilson.
Bournemouth's intensity was converted into excellent defensive protection for the rest of the first half, as Manchester City only found space to finish in the final minutes. However, Pep Guardiola's side completely dominated the game after the break thanks to Nico O'Reilly coming on for Abdoukodir Khusanov.
Haaland needed just four minutes after the break to score a redemption goal in the 49th minute, thanks mainly to De Bruyne's deep pass. The qualifying goal came in the 63rd minute, with Marmoush dominating and hitting a cross past Kepa in his first move off the bench.
Is Manchester City the favorite to win the FA Cup?
Having overcome a dangerous away quarter-final, Manchester City will face Nottingham Forest in the semifinals at Wembley. Nuno EspĂrito Santo's side needed penalties to advance against Brighton, in a match marked by strong marking and intense defensive systems.
In the other semifinal, Crystal Palace will face Aston Villa, the favorites to advance to the final. Knockout games are more likely to throw up surprises, but Manchester City go into the semifinals with the best squad and the team best prepared to win the FA Cup, which is essential ahead of the FIFA Club World Cup.