FA Cup
Angry Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola lashes out at FA Cup schedule despite victory
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lashed out at the FA Cup schedule after his side beat Chelsea 1-0 to reach the final on April 20, three days after their treble bid was ended by defeat on penalties by Real Madrid in the Champions League.
A late goal by Bernardo Silva got holders City over the line, although they rode their luck against a Chelsea side who were punished for not taking the numerous chances they created.
Silva side-footed home in the 84th minute after Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic parried a Kevin de Bruyne shot.
The Portuguese, who missed a penalty in the shoot-out defeat at home to Real, said he was “very happy after a very frustrating week for all of us, for me personally”.
“The good thing is in football, if you play at Man City, you play every three days, so after two to three days, you have a chance for a bit of revenge and to put things right.”
City, who were without fatigued striker Erling Haaland, lacked their usual zip and, despite reaching another final, Guardiola was clearly agitated at his side’s lack of recovery time after the heartache of the Champions League exit on April 17.
“It’s unacceptable to let us play today,” Guardiola said. “It’s impossible, for the health of the players. It’s not normal. It’s unacceptable – 120 minutes, the emotions of Madrid, the way we lose, honestly.
“I know this country is special (with the FA Cup) but it’s for the health of the players. I don’t understand how we survived today.”
He could not fathom why City’s game against Chelsea was not scheduled for April 21 rather than Manchester United’s semi-final clash with second-tier Coventry City, neither of whom had to play a match in midweek.
“The only power I have I say here. Why don’t we play tomorrow? Chelsea, Manchester United, Coventry didn’t play midweek,” the Spaniard said.
“Mentally so tough to recover. Rodri, the way he played today, Kyle (Walker), who was injured for a few weeks, I don’t understand how they survived.
“We want to play football, we love to play football, but it’s too much. We defend our trophy. We’ll be here.”
The exit to Real ended City’s hopes of a second straight treble, although they are still in the hunt for an English Premier League and FA Cup double.
Chelsea, whose last visit to Wembley ended in League Cup final defeat by a late Liverpool goal in extra time in February, squandered some of the best chances.
Senegalese Nicolas Jackson was particularly profligate.
He had the first shot on target in the eighth minute but it was easily collected by Stefan Ortega in the City goal. Early in the second half, Jackson had two chances to put the ball away but Ortega intercepted both.
There were also opportunities for 21-year-old former City attacker Cole Palmer, who scored four goals against Everton in the league on April 15, and for Noni Madueke.
A last-gasp free kick from substitute Mykhailo Mudryk sailed over the bar, while Chelsea also had a penalty appeal turned down when Palmer’s free kick struck Jack Grealish’s hand in the wall but the video assistant referee ruled in City’s favour.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is keen for their disappointing season to end and start afresh after his side’s last hopes of silverware were extinguished.
“Today we competed well. I cannot say we were the better side because that is difficult to measure. The most important thing is we competed,” he said.
“We need to take positives from the game. This group needs these types of moments from games to improve.”
–Reuters/ AFP
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to cruise into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Champions Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly, their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
His blond hair swinging behind him in a ponytail, Haaland netted his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Haaland completed his treble with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s woes continued when Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, capped off a poor performance by having his penalty saved by James Trafford, snuffing out any faint hopes Liverpool might have had of a comeback
As the game turned into a victory parade, many Liverpool fans started heading for the exits, and City manager Pep Guardiola rang the changes, replacing Haaland with Omar Marmoush, the Norwegian striker receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.
In the other quarter-finals, Chelsea take on Port Vale and Southampton host Arsenal later on Saturday, with Leeds United travelling to West Ham United on Sunday.
The semi-finals will take place at Wembley, and Haaland is relishing a return to the stadium.
“First half, we struggled a bit, but then we after around 30 minutes we kept going and in the end it’s an amazing game. Another Wembley trip for us is amazing and important,” he told broadcaster TNT.
“I think (my form this season) has been a bit too much up and down, which is not good enough. I cannot keep on thinking about what I could have done differently or what didn’t happen, or what happened. I have to think about the next game.”
-Reuters
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Arsenal will be without injured England attacker Noni Madueke when they face Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, but Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber may return from injury, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Madueke was among the 11 Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty last month over injuries and fitness management, as the club eye their first Premier League title since 2004.
“When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team. Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.”
Madueke picked up a knee injury during England’s friendly with Uruguay, missing the game against Japan. But Arteta said his condition was not as bad as a knee injury that kept him out for six weeks.
Martin Zubimendi, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Timber, Leandro Trossard, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were unavailable for their countries.
Arteta did not disclose how many of them will be available for Saturday’s game, as Arsenal look to shake off last month’s League Cup final loss to Manchester City with a return to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“We’re in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition,” he said. ” We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”
-Reuters
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Manchester City will look to secure a historic eighth straight semi-final appearance in the FA Cup when they face Liverpool on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola said.
City beat Arsenal to win the League Cup before the international break, and Guardiola is hoping his team maintain the momentum as they fight to add the FA Cup and Premier League to this season’s trophy haul.
“Once you finish one, it is the next one,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“Tomorrow we have the chance to reach an incredible milestone, to make eight semi-finals in a row. It’s never happened… it is a prestigious competition, and one of the toughest, special opponents for all of us, Liverpool.”
City have dominated English football with six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five League Cups since Guardiola joined in 2016, but Liverpool have been a constant thorn in his side throughout his coaching career.
As a coach, Guardiola has only nine victories and seven draws in 26 matches against Liverpool, his worst win rate against a Premier League club.
City have beaten Liverpool twice in the Premier League this season, but had to dig deep for a late comeback when they won 2-1 at Anfield in February.
“So many times they have been the rival, the biggest, biggest one… top contender, top class players, all of them. Hopefully we have to perform in the level we did against Arsenal to reach the next step,” Guardiola said.
The manager also praised Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who has announced his departure in the summer.
“Absolutely. One of the greatest. The numbers, the consistency. What a player… absolute legend, of course for Liverpool, but (also) for the Premier League,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola, however, avoided commenting on his own midfielder Rodri, who said he was open to a move to Real Madrid when his contract with City runs out at the end of this season.
“No clue, no opinion… because I know the intention of the club, I know the intention, I think, of him, but I don’t know,” Guardiola said.’
-Reuters
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