Manchester City came back from a half time deficit away to Bournemouth to take their place in the FA Cup semi-finals, for the seventh season in succession, as Omar Marmoush climbed off the bench to bag the winner.
With just a top four place left to play for in the Premier League, the FA Cup is Manchester City’s best chance of salvaging something from an odd season and for 45 minutes it looked like that was about to disappear. But a second half revival earned a 2-1 win and a match against Nottingham Forest to look forward to, with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace making up the final four.
Erling Haaland missed a hat-trick of chances in the first half, including a penalty, and the Cherries took advantage. Bournemouth knocked the ball around nicely, as they often do, and it was a lovely move which brought the opener. David Brooks swivelled and chipped over a cross which Justin Kluivert directed towards goal and Evanilson turned the ball home.
But you can’t keep giving Haaland chances and the Sky Blues were back on terms early in the second half when substitute Nico O-Reilly raided down the left flank and crossed to the back post where the big Norwegian ghosted in to tap home. Pep Guardiola made another substitution and he got it right again, this time bringing on Marmoush and when O’Reilly slid the ball through he finished clinically with his first touch of the game.
The FA Cup 2025 betting odds here at SBOTOP back Guardiola’s boys to win the title but all four remaining clubs will fancy their chances.
The Sky Blues’ neighbours Manchester United are already out of the cup but one of their players, Marcus Rashford, on loan at Aston Villa, scored a brace as the Villans coasted through to the semi-finals with a 3-0 win away to Preston North End. The Championship outfit put in a valiant shift for an hour before they were eventually sliced open by their illustrious opponents when Rashford scored his first goal for his new club. Wingback Lucas Digne got round the back of Preston’s defence and Rashford expertly delayed his run before sliding the ball home for 1-0.
When Morgan Rogers won a penalty, up stepped Rashford to coolly convert and the game was over for the hosts. Jacob Ramsay made it three and Villa could have had a couple more with substitute Ollie Watkins coming close twice; but it was a job well done for Unai Emery’s team who are going well in the league and the Champions League.
Life’s so Eze for Eberechi
Hot on the heels of his first goal for England in a 3-0 win over Latvia, Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze was the hero at Craven Cottage as he scored a stunner and set up a second as the Eagles swept Fulham away to reach the semi-finals of the cup. The Cottagers simply had a bad day at the office, though they could easily have gone ahead as Rodrigo Muniz fired a good chance wide and the recently returned Andrea Pereira should have done better after being teed up by the industrious Calvin Bassey.
But the signs were on the wall when Jefferson Lerma smashed a volley against the crossbar, and Eze opened the scoring with a peach of a shot which hit the inside of the post before nestling in the net. That was on 34 minutes and just four later the new England star crossed for the in-form Ismaila Sarr to head home unchallenged. Fulham pushed to try to get into the game but with little effect and when substitute Eddie Nketiah threaded a ball through Bernd Leno’s legs the game was up.
The Eagles have landed in the final four.
In other FA Cup 2025 news Nottingham Forest were the fourth club to make it through to the final four thanks to a penalty shootout win over Brighton Hove Albion. Without top scorer Chris Wood, who picked up a hip injury while playing for New Zealand, Forest had plenty of play but little bite as they took the game to the Seagulls. Forest have a tantalising Premier League clash against Manchester United on Tuesday and manager Nuno started with Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi on the bench, but both made an appearance with 120 minutes for the team to fill.
The hero of the hour was Forest keeper Matz Sels who saved shootout penalties from Jack Hinshelwood and Diego Gomez while Ryan Yates scored the winning penalty to send his club through to their first FA Cup semi-final since 1991. And Nuno’s team are starting to enjoy penalty shootouts having gone through three consecutive rounds by the sudden death method.
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