Manchester City keeps quadruple on track after FA Cup thriller

Manchester City booked their place at Wembley for the FA Cup semi-finals when they overturned a two-goal deficit to defeat Swansea City 3-2 at the Liberty Stadium. There was a sense of injustice in Wales as  Sergio Agüero‘s second goal of the game looked offside.

Swansea City 2-3 Manchester City

Pep Guardiola left Raheem Sterling and Sergio Agüero on the bench for the fifth round FA Cup tie in South Wales. Both players would have an impact in the second half. Swansea started the game brightly, taking the game to Manchester City. It was the Swans who took a surprise lead when Matt Grimes scored a 20th-minute penalty. The home supporters lifted off the roof, urging their team on. Bersant Celina led Swansea‘s line well, and the 22-year-old’s hard work paid off when he doubled Swansea’s lead on 29 minutes, rounding off a fantastic team-move from back-to-front.

A game of two halves

Guardiola rallied his troops at half-time, and Manchester City dominated the second half. The gulf in class between the Premier League team and the Championship team was there for all to see, however, Manchester City had an element of fortune. Bernardo Silva‘s 69th-minute strike gave the visitors hope, but it went from bad to worse for Graham Potter‘s side.

Two contentious issues decided the outcome of the game. First, the referee adjudged that Sterling had been brought down by Cameron Carter-Vickers inside his own penalty area. Agüero stepped up to score his 28th goal of the season. Manchester City were given another stroke of luck when Silva’s cross was headed home by Agüero, who appeared to be in an offside position. The absence of VAR went in City‘s favour. The consistency of VAR is a question for the Football Association.

"We started really well at the beginning but missed the last pass and last actions, that’s why we had problems. Swansea played good. But we started second half very good, found a goal and after that we created a lot of chances – Pep Guardiola."

https://twitter.com/ManCity/status/1107000363859755009

Take nothing away from both sides. Swansea deserved their first-half lead. Manchester City dominated the second-half. The introduction of Sterling and Agüero had an impact. Manchester City have won 11 games on the bounce, their quest for a quadruple haul of trophies is on track.