Man City smashed Southampton at St. Mary’s Stadium as they secured a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Manchester City defeated Southampton 4-1 in their FA Cup quarter-final game on Saturday. The Citizens displayed another brilliant attacking performance as they ended Southampton’s FA Cup dreams.
Easy win at Saint Marry’s!
Manchester City came into the game on the back of their underwhelming draw against Crystal Palace in the Premier League.
The Citizens will not get back to the league’s heated title race until after the international break. However, a brilliant attacking display already showed Pep Guardiola’s side bouncing back from their league setback.
Raheem Sterling opened the scoring for the Citizens in the 12th minute before the hosts made it 1-1 just before the half-time whistle.
Guardiola’s side looked way livelier after the interval, putting the Saints’ backline under constant pressure. while repelling their counter-attacks. Their efforts finally paid off when Kevin De Bruyne restored their lead by converting a penalty in the 62nd minute.
City continued their attacks to extend their leads while remaining cautious of Southampton’s dangerous counter-attacks. Following a blocked shot from De Bruyne, Phil Foden rifled a stunning strike past Fraser Forster to make it 3-1.
Southampton’s defence looked shattered in the final twenty minutes, enabling City to attack them from both flanks. A searching cross from Joao Cancelo found Ilkay Gundogan, who then provided an inch-perfect assist for Riyad Mahrez.
Mahrez’s low shot ended Southampton’s dreams of coming back into the game, securing a brilliant 4-1 win for the Citizens.
What’s next for Man City?
City qualify for the semi-finals of the FA Cup by eliminating the Saints. The Citizens will discover their next opponents after Liverpool’s upcoming match vs Nottingham Forest later today.
After the international break, Guardiola’s side will return to Premier League action against Burnley on April 2.
Player Ratings
Southampton: Forster (5); Livramento (6), Stephens (4), Salisu (6), Walker-Peters (6); Romeu (6), Ward-Prowse (6); S. Armstrong (5), Elyounoussi (5); Long (6), A. Armstrong (7).
Bench: Diallo (6), Adams (5), Smallbone (6), Djenepo (6), Broja (5).
Manchester City: Steffen (7); Walker (7), Stones (7), Laporte (6), Cancelo (7); Rodri (6); De Bruyne (8), Gundogan (8); Jesus (7), Sterling (8), Grealish (6).
Bench: Foden (7), Zinchenko (6), Ake (5), Mahrez (7), Fernandinho (6).
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