Bernardo Silva fires Man City into record sixth successive FA Cup semi-final
Two deflected strikes from Bernardo Silva saw Manchester City become the first team in the history of the FA Cup to reach the semi-finals six seasons running with a 2-0 win over Newcastle.
Pep Guardiola may not want to talk about the prospect of a second treble, but his side are now unbeaten in their last 22 games in all competitions going into the international break after what turned into a Saturday evening stroll in the Manchester rain.
Newcastle can point to a crippling injury list, but the team that ended City’s aspirations in the Carabao Cup back in September could barely lay a glove on them this time, finishing the match with only two efforts at goal to City’s 16.
Guardiola made five changes to the side held 1-1 at Liverpool last weekend, some of them enforced after injuries to Ederson and Kevin De Bruyne, but his players did not skip a beat as they dominated play from the off.
Silva’s 13th-minute opener was the hosts’ first real sight of goal but it had all been City up to that point as they looked for an opening.
When Silva took a stride forward in the Newcastle box, he found space to try a curling shot which deflected off Dan Burn to leave Martin Dubravka wrong-footed.
The second goal came in the 31st minute. Where Silva hit the opener with his right foot, this time he cut inside on to his left and looked for the far post, instead finding the net with the help of Sven Botman’s head.
Newcastle needed a response as the game threatened to get away from them before half-time. In the 36th minute Burn headed Jacob Murphy’s ball back across goal to Alexander Isak, but his well-struck shot was kept out by the left palm of Stefan Ortega.
The German goalkeeper would have always expected to play in this match as Guardiola’s regular cup starter, but it was a welcome sign for City given the injury Ederson suffered at Anfield last weekend.
At the other end a lovely spin from Phil Foden put the England man through on goal, but Bruno Guimaraes did well to force him wide as his off-balance shot missed the target.
They kept the pressure on in the closing minutes of the half as Dubravka saved from Jeremy Doku and then, from the resulting corner, kept out Ruben Dias’ close-range header.
And City were straight back on it at the start of the first half as Foden’s flick released Doku, whose low shot across goal was well saved by the goalkeeper.
Erling Haaland, whose scored five goals as City brushed aside Luton 6-2 in the previous round, then tried his luck, taking the ball from Mateo Kovacic on the halfway line and driving at the Newcastle defence before curling a shot narrowly wide of the post.
The third goal that might have killed the game off completely would not come, yet City rarely looked troubled.
In the 65th minute Silva was dispossessed and Newcastle substitute Miguel Almiron charged at goal. Isak, in plenty of space to his right, demanded the ball but when it came, the pass was behind him and the chance – a rare one for the Magpies – disappeared.
City sent on Oscar Bobb, scorer of their stoppage-time winner at St James’ Park in January, and Julian Alvarez as they kept looking for a third, but Haaland was twice denied late on.
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Man City 2-0 Newcastle: Player ratings as Bernardo Silva double steers Cityzens to semi-finals
Two deflected strikes from Bernardo Silva fired City to a 2-0 win over Newcastle
Magpies tweaked formation but failed to deal with City's quality
City into sixth straight semi-final
By Tom Gott
Mar 16, 2024
A routine win for Man City
A routine win for Man City / Alex Livesey/GettyImages
Manchester City flexed their quality on Saturday evening as they picked up a comfortable 2-0 victory over Newcastle United to book their place in the FA Cup semi-final.
Two deflected goals from Bernardo Silva in the first half ultimately did the damage for City, who were more than good value for the lead and never looked at risk of coming out of this one with anything other than a win.
It's City's sixth consecutive trip to the semi-finals - a new competition record.
How the game unfolded
Some smart Newcastle defending stopped a dangerous Jeremy Doku counter early on, but City inched themselves ahead 13 minutes in as Silva's strike took a wicked deflection off Dan Burn and looped over a helpless Martin Dubravka into the net.
The Newcastle stopper had to be quick off his line to stop Erling Haaland from collecting Mateo Kovacic's scoop, but Dubravka was once again beaten by a deflection on the half-hour mark. It was Silva who once again fired in from the edge of the box, with Sven Botman the unlucky defender who steered into his own net this time.
Alexander Isak should have pulled one back with Newcastle's first real sight of goal. Burn's knock-down found the Swede alone in the box but his half-volley was well kept out by Stefan Ortega.
A glorious flick from Phil Foden nearly led to a third for City, but the Englishman just couldn't keep his effort on target to add to his side's lead before the break. Newcastle were desperately holding on and had Dubravka to thank after he denied both Doku and Ruben Dias in stoppage time.
Dubravka denied Doku once again just minutes into the second half, before Newcastle brought four substitutes off the bench in an attempt to inject some life into the game.
The Magpies were definitely better in the second half, but City's quality was simply too great as they comfortably held on to seal their spot at Wembley.
Man City player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Bernardo Silva, Erling Haaland
Haaland had a tough game / Alex Livesey/GettyImages
GK: Stefan Ortega - 6/10 - Largely a bystander but did have to make a smart save to deny Isak in the first half.
RB: Kyle Walker - 6/10 - Had very little defending to do and was instead focused on attacking, where his misplaced crosses left fans frustrated.
CB: Manuel Akanji - 8/10 - Made his defending look so simple. Enjoyed plenty of freedom to play with the ball at his feet and pulled off some delightful passes.
CB: Ruben Dias - 7/10 - Made things look simple at the back and even got plenty of opportunities to get forward.
LB: Josko Gvardiol - 8/10 - Probably his best game in a City shirt. Great passing and really impactful pressing to ensure his side remained on top.
DM: Rodri - 8/10 - Typically dominant at the base of City's midfield and even bagged the assist for Silva's opener.
DM: Mateo Kovacic - 8/10 - Did all the hard work around Rodri. Happy to buzz around in defence but was really involved in the final third, always looking to feed his forwards.
RM: Phil Foden - 8/10 - A constant problem down the right side. Caused Burn all sorts of problems and pulled out some delightful passes.
AM: Bernardo Silva - 9/10 - Everything he did looked like it could lead to a goal. Credited with two fortunate goals but absolutely deserved that sort of luck. An immense showing.
LM: Jeremy Doku - 8/10 - Guilty of one or two poor decisions but made so many good ones that it balanced out. Constantly flew down the left to terrorise Newcastle's defence.
ST: Erling Haaland - 6/10 - Newcastle seemed to focus on keeping Haaland quiet, but that simply left an ocean of space for everyone else around him.
Substitutes
SUB: Oscar Bobb (77' for Doku) - 7/10
SUB: Julian Alvarez (87' for Haaland) - N/A
Subs not used: Scott Carson (GK), Sergio Gomez, Rico Lewis, Nathan Ake, John Stones, Matheus Nunes, Jack Grealish
Manager
Pep Guardiola - 7/10 - City picked up on the flaws in Newcastle's setup almost instantly and ruthlessly punished them.
Newcastle player ratings (5-3-2)
Jeremy Doku, Jamaal Lascelles, Martin Dubravka
Dubravka was excellent / Alex Livesey/GettyImages
GK: Martin Dubravka - 8/10 - Could do nothing about the two deflections and stopped this from getting embarrassing early on.
RB: Jacob Murphy - 5/10 - He tried incredibly hard but City's relentless quality was simply too much for Murphy.
CB: Fabian Schar - 5/10 - Actually did a pretty good job of keeping Haaland under control but his inability to stop any other players from getting into the box ultimately proved costly.
CB: Jamaal Lascelles - 5/10 - Cut a frustrated figure as his hard work led to nothing.
CB: Sven Botman - 3/10 - Given a really tough time here. Never looked comfortable when City were coming at him. Guilty of a handful of poor moments.
LB: Dan Burn - 4/10 - City tormented Burn but he was often left isolated by a lack of support from Willock ahead of him. Hard to be too critical but there's no denying he won't remember this game fondly.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes - 5/10 - Struggled up against City's relentless press and looked visibly frustrated. Clearly tried to make things happen but couldn't do enough.
CM: Sean Longstaff - 3/10 - Chasing shadows throughout. Couldn't get anywhere near the ball.
CM: Joe Willock - 2/10 - Whether he was given the wrong job or simply couldn't do what was needed of him, Willock's failure to help Burn saw Newcastle get absolutely torched in the first half. City picked up on the issues with his positioning almost immediately.
ST: Anthony Gordon - 4/10 - Put in a shift but was completely starved of service.
ST: Alexander Isak - 4/10 - Guilty of a huge miss in the first half which would have given Newcastle hope of getting back into this one.
Substitutes
SUB: Miguel Almiron (62' for Gordon) - 6/10
SUB: Lewis Hall (62' for Burn) - 7/10
SUB: Elliot Anderson (62' for Willock) - 6/10
SUB: Lewis Miley (62' for Longstaff) - 6/10
SUB: Emil Krafth (83' for Botman) - N/A
Subs not used: Loris Karius (GK), Matt Targett, Paul Dummett, Matt Ritchie
Manager
Eddie Howe - 3/10 - The shift in formation worked to neutralise Haaland but left Newcastle painfully exposed elsewhere. At least his substitutions made an impact.
Player of the match - Bernardo Silva (Man City)
Related Topics
Bernardo Silva
Manchester City FC
Newcastle United
FA Cup
Erling Haaland
Phil Foden
