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- Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City: Super-sub O'Reilly inspires FA Cup turnaround
Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City: Super-sub O'Reilly inspires FA Cup turnaround
Manchester City hit back in the second half to overcome Bournemouth 2-1 and book their place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Nico O'Reilly provided two assists from the bench as Manchester City came from behind to beat Bournemouth 2-1 in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Youngster O'Reilly scored twice in City's win over Plymouth Argyle in round five, but had to settle for a place on the bench at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday.
However, he played a key role after coming on at half-time, swiftly teeing up Erling Haaland's equaliser then supplying a cute reverse pass from which fellow substitute Omar Marmoush scored the winner.
City had been gifted an early penalty when Tyler Adams handled in Bournemouth's box, only for Haaland to fluff his lines from 12 yards, sending a tame effort at Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Haaland saw another great chance go begging when he lobbed over when one-on-one with Kepa soon after, and City's frustration was compounded as Bournemouth went ahead in the 21st minute – Evanilson tapping home following a bad giveaway from Matheus Nunes.
Yet Pep Guardiola's introduction of O'Reilly in place of Abdukodir Khusanov sparked City back into life.
O'Reilly got in down the left and crossed for Haaland to tuck in at the back post four minutes after the restart, before Marmoush slotted under Kepa after some brilliant play from the 20-year-old on the edge of the area.
Ilkay Gundogan clipped the woodwork as City searched for a third, though the visitors were not made to pay for that miss as they booked their place in the last four for a seventh straight campaign.
Last year's runners-up will take on Nottingham Forest at Wembley for a place in the final.
Data Debrief: Life of O'Reilly
O'Reilly led the charge as City turned the tie around, providing his first assists for the club in the process.
He became the first City substitute to assist two goals in a game since Gundogan did so against Leeds United in December 2021, while he joined Jack Clarke on five goal contributions in this season's FA Cup, with the duo having played a part in more strikes than any other Premier League players.
His first assist set up Haaland to become the first player to score 30+ goals in all competitions in each of his first three seasons while playing for a Premier League club since Ruud van Nistelrooy for Manchester United, from 2001-02 to 2003-04.
Marmoush, meanwhile, now has 34 goal involvements in all competitions this season, including his time at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Excluding penalties, among players in Europe's big five leagues, only Raphinha (44), Mohamed Salah (43), and Ousmane Dembele (35) have more goal contributions than the Egyptian.
City will consider this a win that was firmly deserved. They finished up with 17 shots, getting seven of those on target, and accumulating 3.43 expected goals (xG) to Bournemouth's 1.67, with the Cherries managing just five attempts.