After Coventry City’s miracle, Manchester City, with a bit of Julián Álvarez, also reached the FA Cup semi-finals

With just four minutes of Giuliano Alvarez and a brace from the Portuguese Bernardo Silva, Manchester City respected the procedure and won 2-0 Newcastle to advance to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, the oldest tournament in football history. The same place I had accessed some time before City of Coventryof the Championship, then in a completely unplanned victory until two minutes from the end of the match against Wolverhampton.

The versatile Silva appeared in the 13th and 31st minutes of the first half as Pep Guardiola’s Citizens made the difference needed to put the Magpies out of the game. Álvarez, who usually alternates in the starting team, this time waited on the bench until almost the end when he came on in place of Norwegian Erling Haaland. It was one of the two changes attempted by the Spanish coach, who shortly before had given way to the Norwegian Oscar Bobb to replace the Belgian Jeremy Doku.

Without the Belgian strategist Kevin de Bruyne and the Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson, both injured, City, who will face Real Madrid in the Champions League in a few weeks, continued their journey towards winning the cup, as champions, and reserved themselves a place at Wembley, where the final stage of the tournament is played. For the sixth consecutive season, the team from the Emirates capitals will be among the four survivors of the event.

City are aiming for a new treble and have real options to do so. With the leadership of the Premier League within reach, among the best eight of the Champions League and semi-finalists in the FA Cup, Guardiola’s team continues to do its duty, carrying out its matches with quality, insistence and almost always by knockout.

Manchester City had their share of luck when it came to scoring the first two goals, within half an hour. Not much had happened at the Etihad Stadium, but the lead arrived like a ripe fruit, picked by Bernardo Silva. In the thirteenth minute he receives a ball in the area from Rodri. After a couple of feints he fired. The ball hit a defender, was poisoned and came into the net after beating Martin Dubravka.

The second was in the 31st minute, when Bernardo Silva, in midfield, collected a pass from Ruben Diasy and shot. The ball bounced off the head of central defender Sven Botman and deflected again. Dubravka confused, beaten again.

City, who left Newcastle unmarked for the first time since last December 23, against Luton Town, easily finished their twenty-second match without losing. A journey that keeps him alive, with aspirations, in each of the tournaments. Now also in the FA Cup, in the semi-final, just two days away from the title.

Coventry City and a blow in injury time

There was a surprise in the first round of the day as English second division side Coventry City also entered the top four of the competition after beating visiting Wolverhampton 3-2 in a match with heartbreaking goals and in the finale. plot twists in the script.

The visitors started the second half by taking the lead thanks to the presence of Ellis Simms (ST 8m) and with ten minutes remaining they were still ahead. But the Wolves, who play in the Premier League, reacted and with two shots from the Algerian Rayan Ait-Nouri (ST 38m) and the Spanish Hugo Bueno (ST 43m) they reversed the situation and practically left room on the track for the semi-finals.

But Simms, the same one who opened the scoring, had other plans. He scored the partial equalizer in injury time (ST 52 minutes) before assisting Haji Wright (ST 55 minutes), which certified the current team’s place in the semifinals in eighth place in the table.

On Sunday, Mauricio Pochettino and Enzo Fernández’s Chelsea will host the current championship leader, Leicester (9.45, Star+) before the big match between Alejandro Garnacho’s Manchester United and Alexis Mac Allister’s Liverpool (12.30, ESPN) at Old Trafford.