The match between Bournemouth and Manchester City stands as the highlight of this FA Cup quarter-final weekend at the Vitality Stadium where Basque and Catalan nations meet in competition.
Wolverhampton Wanderers met their defeat in the spot kick penalty round against Bournemouth which allowed the Cherries to move onto the final eight stage of competition as the reigning English champions narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of Plymouth Argyle by a 3-1 margin.
A blonde and tall professional player was standard at the Etihad Stadium before Plymouth Argyle faced off against Man City yet it was the defender Maksym Taloverov who put the visitors ahead with his headed goal during the first half.
Nico O'Reilly rescued Man City by scoring two headers during the latter half to save the Citizens from defeat before Kevin De Bruyne put the match beyond doubt in stoppage time.
Through exceptional FA Cup quarter-final success City has solidified their position as the chief terror in the competition even during this subpar moment.
The FA Cup quarter-final history of Manchester City under Guardiola stands as perfect because he has never lost a match. The Sky Blues have participated in all previous six FA Cup semi-finals and no English team has achieved this impressive streak.
City achieved their most recent triumph across all competitions when beating Plymouth but Guardiola's team suffered through unsatisfactory results against Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League which might not affect their fifth-place position securing Champions League qualification based on English football's better UEFA coefficient position.
After losing their magic before the two-week break, Bournemouth, who are hoping to qualify for the Champions League themselves for a brief period of time, can probably forget about hearing the iconic anthem burst out of the Vitality Stadium sound system next season.
Iraola has now witnessed four losses from his team's previous eight games, including a 2-1 home setback to away-day specialists Brentford last time out. The Cherries avoided defeat in each of their 12 games in all competitions between November 30 and January 25.
Despite sitting in 10th place, Bournemouth are still very much in contention for a top-seven finish. Another route to the Europa League lies in the FA Cup, where they’re aiming to make history by reaching the semi-finals for the first time ever.
The Cherries have made it to the quarter-finals twice before—in 1957, when they fell 2-1 to Manchester United, and in the 2020-21 season, suffering a 3-0 defeat to Southampton. This time, however, Andoni Iraola’s side has fought hard to earn their spot, with dominant wins over West Bromwich Albion (5-1) and Everton (2-0), followed by a dramatic penalty shootout victory against Wolves, who crumbled after Matheus Cunha’s costly meltdown.
While Bournemouth and Manchester City have never faced off in the FA Cup before, the Cherries did make history earlier this season with a 2-1 Premier League win over Pep Guardiola’s side. That victory—their first ever against City—proves that the reigning champions’ usual dominance at Wembley is far from a sure thing this time.
