Man City booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals after defeating Newcastle. This was a match in which coach Pep Guardiola's players had difficulty approaching the visitors' goal, with only 5 shots on target.
Man City fielded their best lineup but without Kevin De Bruyne due to injury. Facing the home team's strength, coach Eddie Howe arranged the team to sit deep, placing 5 defenders across to ensure maximum safety for Martin Dubravka's goal.
In the early stages, Man City struggled to find a way into the opponent's goal. However, in the 12th minute, they were lucky to open the scoring.
Bernardo Silva received the ball outside the box. He took a few steps before finishing with his weaker foot. The ball hit the Newcastle defender's leg, changed direction and left goalkeeper Dubravka no time to react.
Bernardo Silva shined in this match.
Despite conceding a goal, Newcastle remained loyal to their solid defensive style. The gap between the two teams was only 1 goal and the away team could have easily leveled the score if they had successfully taken advantage of a counter-attack.
However, that plan failed. In the 31st minute, Bernardo Silva got the ball in the previous scoring position. This time, he shot with his left foot but the shot was not very powerful. However, goalkeeper Martin Dubravka still conceded the goal because the ball hit a defender's foot and changed direction.
Newcastle were forced to push up the pitch. In the 36th minute, they could have reduced the deficit if Alexander Isak had finished neatly in an open position.
Early in the second half, Jeremy Doku exchanged passes with his teammate before finishing. However, his shot could not beat goalkeeper Dubravka.
Newcastle had another great chance to score. However, Alexander Isak missed. In the 66th minute, Bernardo Silva lost the ball, Miguel Almiron passed it accurately to Isak. The Swedish striker again failed to control the ball and the chance was lost.
The match ended with a 2-0 victory for Man City. They won a place in the FA Cup semi-finals. The organizers will draw lots to find the pairs in this round.
Result: Man City 2-0 Newcastle
Goal scorer: Bernardo Silva (12, 31')
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