Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Andy Hampson

A closer look at Manchester City’s route to the FA Cup final

Manchester City will face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Here, the PA news agency looks at their route to the Wembley showpiece.

Man City 8 Salford 0 (third round, Jan 11)

James McAtee claimed the match ball after City powered past Salford (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

City began their march to a third successive final with a comprehensive demolition of their League Two neighbours. James McAtee scored a second-half hat-trick after Jeremy Doku began the rout with the first of his double. Divin Mubama struck on debut, Jack Grealish scored for the first time in over a year and Nico O’Reilly claimed his first senior goal.

Leyton Orient 1 Man City 2 (fourth round, Feb 8)

Pep Guardiola’s side survived a scare in east London as they came from behind to beat their League One hosts. Orient took a shock lead after Jamie Donley’s dramatic 50-yard effort struck the bar and rebounded in via Stefan Ortega but Abdukodir Khusanov levelled and veteran Kevin De Bruyne settled the contest 11 minutes from time.

Man City 3 Plymouth 1 (fifth round, Mar 1)

After knocking out Liverpool, Championship strugglers Plymouth dreamed of another upset after taking a surprise lead through Maksym Talovierov. O’Reilly shattered their hopes by heading home a brilliant De Bruyne free-kick to equalise and then putting City ahead with 14 minutes remaining. De Bruyne confirmed the win late on.

Bournemouth 1 Man City 2 (quarter-finals, Mar 30)

Nico O’Reilly (left) is congratulated by manager Pep Guardiola (right) after playing a key role in victory at Bournemouth (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)

City needed to produce another fightback after Evanilson punished Erling Haaland for missing two gilt-edged chances, one from the penalty spot, by giving the Cherries a half-time lead. The introduction of O’Reilly from the bench changed the game as he set up Haaland for an equaliser and then played in Omar Marmoush for the winner.

Nottingham Forest 0 Man City 2 (semi-finals, Apr 27)

City led for the majority of the Wembley contest after Rico Lewis opened the scoring with a fine strike after just two minutes and they took firm control when Josko Gvardiol headed a second after the break. Forest, who should earlier have made it 1-1 through Anthony Elanga, rallied in the latter stages and hit the woodwork three times but City were not to be denied.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.