Manchester City's second string players needed the impetus from the substitutes' bench to get past a determined and organised Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola led his side to a fourth straight FA Cup final(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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As Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has had more games at Wembley than most Chelsea managers get at Stamford Bridge. But in all his matches here for City, he has probably not been as grateful for a sumptuous strike as he was for Nico Gonzalez's dreamy hit.
It was a right-footer that spared Guardiola the stress of extra-time and allowed him to escape without criticism for fielding a shadow team in an FA Cup semi-final. And it means he will return to his second English home on May 16, when his hopes of a treble should be very much alive.
This was a deserved victory for City, who have become the first team in the competition’s history to reach four successive FA Cup finals. But for a good while, it was a laboured effort, their winning instinct only sharpened by a fantastic goal from Southampton’s Finn Azaz.
But for well over an hour, this was the sort of occasion that highlights just how dispiriting it is to play these games at Wembley.
One half of the stadium was full and interested, the other half was half-full and half-interested. There was certainly more than a hint of City complacency. And that was not just in the team selection. That complacency produced plenty of laxness.
A second-choice City line-up had no rhythm, which gave the Championship side a relatively comfortable task when it came to keeping Guardiola’s team at bay. They also had the odd moment on the breakaway. Leo Scienza was the most eye-catching performer in that half and was not offside by much when having a tidy effort ruled out.
When it came to what passed for chances, City probably shaded the first half but, in truth, it was eminently forgettable. That is not to discredit Southampton’s efforts.
Pep Guardiola, Manager of Manchester City, speaks with Tijjani Reijnders
Pep Guardiola got away with his much-changed team(Image: Michael Regan/The FA via Getty Images)
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Tonda Eckert has this squad superbly organised and, if anything, they had the greater vibrancy for good periods of the game. The only real talking point at half-time centred on how long it would take before Guardiola called on some of the players who had been serving so well in the Premier League.
He resisted the half-time temptation. The main issue Guardiola probably needed to address was a chronic lack of support for Marmoush. Without changing personnel, he partially remedied that problem but there was still a lack of quality about the final pass.
It was soon clear, however, that the second period was going to played towards one end of the ground. The half-empty end. And it was actually a little surprising that Guardiola made changes only ten minutes into the second half as it was a time when City looked to be taking complete control.
Phil Foden of Manchester City
Phil Foden was subbed off having not made an impact(Image: Cameron Smith/The FA via Getty Images)
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One of those changes involved the withdrawal of Phil Foden, whose struggle for form - albeit with restricted chances - shows no signs of abating. It is becoming easier and easier to see Thomas Tuchel leaving Foden behind this summer. It is becoming easy to see Foden not playing much of a part in City’s Premier League run-in.
By sending on Jeremy Doku and Savinho, it was clear Pep was not expecting to have much defending to do and, predictably, that was the case. It really did become a training ground attack-versus-defence exercise.
And City did not attack particularly well and Southampton defended very well. Guardiola would have hoped that situation would change when sending on Erling Haaland but it did not.
And out of the blue - and quite remarkably - came a stunning, curling, right-footed effort from Azaz to end a move started by Rayan Cherki’s mistake. Thanks to Doku’s heavily deflected strike, the lead did not last long but at least it gave the contest the injection of excitement it needed.
And it got a spectacular ending as Gonzalez fired a beautifully-struck winner. It was not pretty from City but the treble is still very much on.
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