Bournemouth 1-2 Man City: Fans React to Hard-Fought Clash
The young substitute's energetic contribution turns around with a dominant display against Bournemouth.
The moment that turned Manchester City's FA Cup quarter-final against Bournemouth on its head mainly went unnoticed. As players dashed for the tunnel and fans flooded the concourses with orders for drinks, burgers, and hotdogs, Pep Guardiola issued an instruction that would ultimately define the game and propel City to their seventh consecutive semi-final.
As everyone else entered, his longtime fitness instructor, Lorenzo Buenaventura, hurried onto the pitch with one goal in mind: to prepare Nico O'Reilly for business. The 20-year-old from Failsworth, a few miles north of Manchester, discarded his tracksuit and was swiftly put through his paces. O'Reilly would not leave so gently.
His half-time substitution for Abdukodir Khusanov altered City, keeping them on track to win domestic silverware this season. At that time, City trailed 1-0, Erling Haaland had missed a penalty and squandered two more opportunities, and Guardiola's defence was generally given the runaround. Ilkay Gündogan had committed a handful of careless fouls, and Haaland's opportunities were outliers in a half, which Bournemouth dominated.
O'Reilly, a No 10 or central midfielder by trade, went straight to left-back, Josko Gvardiol shifted to centre-back, and suddenly Rúben Dias, among those who had wobbled during an alarming first-half display, appeared more confident. Midway through the first half, Dias threw a sloppy pass to Gündogan and extended his arms wide in amazement, questioning the 34-year-old midfielder. City no longer had the same aura, but they were unquestionably in control in the second half, thanks to the rangy O'Reilly's sparkling, almost limitless energy.
O'Reilly, who scored twice against Plymouth in the previous round, was so practical that Guardiola joked he would be immediately promoted to his starting lineup at Wembley. Four minutes into the second half, he set up Haaland to equalize. Then he sent in Omar Marmoush with a silky ball for City's second, the Egypt forward scoring on his first touch after replacing the injured Haaland. O'Reilly became the first City substitute to assist two goals in a single game since Gündogan against Leeds in December 2021.
City, who have won the Cup twice under Guardiola, in 2018-19 and 2022-23, are unquestionably favourites despite their glaring flaws, albeit a resurgent Nottingham Forest, their opponents in the last four, defeated them in the Premier League this month.
Within seconds of the restart, Guardiola was moonlighting as a ballboy, anxious to jumpstart his team's comeback after Kepa Arrizabalaga shanked a kick into the advertising hoarding. This, of course, was the site where City's 32-game unbeaten streak ended in November and where, as Guardiola admitted, their season began to deteriorate after they won only one of their next 11 games. For the first 46 minutes, it appeared Guardiola had left Dorset with their season all but over before turning his calendar to April.
The City manager stomped the leather upholstery of his seat in the away dugout in frenzied celebration after Marmoush put City ahead. Yet, only four minutes before, his emotions were on opposite ends of the spectrum. Guardiola was cautioned for sarcastically applauding the fourth official, Andy Madley, as Bournemouth elected to continue playing while Haaland was injured on the pitch. Then O'Reilly stole the ball from Antoine Semenyo's toes and set up Marmoush for a spectacular goal. Guardiola raised his right fist and struck the air.
Jack Grealish and James McAtee's close control helped City run out the clock when the stadium's speakers announced seven more minutes. Bournemouth's formation now resembled a 3-4-3 or 2-5-3. Guardiola's head was still shaking with scorn moments later. Guardiola applauded overhead as Nico González overcame traffic to pass to Grealish, and McAtee nearly created some breathing room, but his shot bounced from Arrizabalaga's torso.
Marmoush had a header cleared off the line, which appeared to come off Illia Zabarnyi, and Gündogan hit the post late on.
The first half had been old and sluggish, with City's iconic players, as Guardiola described them, trying to contain Bournemouth's explosive brilliance. "We couldn't maintain the same level of intensity in the second half," Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola said.
O'Reilly brought a refreshing breath of fresh air to the City, which had been barren of it. "What we missed this season was heart, soul, and desire," Guardiola added later, reflecting more broadly, but O'Reilly delivered in spades.
It was typical of a nerve-racking encounter that City's fans sang of Wembley only as the big displays showed 96:55 minutes. A few seconds later, the final whistle blew; Guardiola felt a sense of relief, embraced players from both teams and then pulled O'Reilly towards the away fans, who serenaded the youngster after another star turn. Bernardo Silva returned O'Reilly's man-of-the-match trophy as they went off the pitch last. Will O'Reilly's next trip be to Wembley?