Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishManchester City have found much of this season uncomfortable but they are back in familiar surroundings now: an FA Cup semi-final awaits, their seventh in as many years, with the chance of silverware retained.Bournemouth were eventually beaten to a meeting with Nottingham Forest in the last four, even if it took the half-time introduction of Nico O’Reilly at left-back to inject some urgency and dynamism into City’s performance and transform the afternoon on the south coast.No home team had managed a goal in the quarter-finals over the weekend until Evanilson bundled the hosts ahead at City’s expense. That reward was borne of Matheus Nunes’s wayward pass, with David Brooks conjuring a delicious cross while City desperately attempted to recover. Justin Kluivert poked a shot back across Ederson, which might have bounced in, but the Brazilian made sure from close range.That felt like a suitable reward for the hosts’ more urgent approach from the outset. Though, in truth, it was plucked with Pep Guardiola still baffled as to how his own team were not ahead. Three times Erling Haaland should have put them into the lead — only to skew a header and a shot from a one-on-one off target, and then see Kepa Arrizabalaga save a penalty. The goalkeeper dived low down to his left to gather; Haaland has scored only four of his seven spot kicks this term.There were signs of life after the interval, though. Phil Foden had already skipped through midfield to force Kepa into another save before O’Reilly tore into space and squared for Haaland to make amends for his earlier profligacy with the 30th goal of his season.The Norwegian’s departure with an ankle injury on the hour-mark might have checked the visitors’ momentum but his replacement, Omar Marmoush, scored with his first involvement. Again, the opportunity was created by O’Reilly, with Guardiola’s changes feeling ever more inspired.Here, Sam Lee and Thom Harris dissect the action at the Vitality stadium.Was this an unlikely turnaround?How best to sort out the problems created by Guardiola choosing a collection of City’s most under-performing players and putting them all in midfield? Take off a centre-back and put on a 20-year-old attacking midfielder at left-back!No but seriously, that did the job.On paper, City’s starting line-up was very strong: Kevin De Bruyne! Bernardo Silva! Ilkay Gundogan! Phil Foden! The issue was that in reality they have each been struggling for ages. Throw in Matheus Nunes at right-back and Mateo Kovacic holding the fort while simultaneously trying to smash into another fort and you have got a recipe for… well, some nice interplay that broke down quite easily, which is what happened in the first half.Bournemouth took advantage but even as the better side, they never looked like they were fully in control or could go and get a second goal at will.
21 – Manchester City have conceded the first goal of a match 21 times in all competitions this season – the only Premier League clubs to do so more in 2024-25 are Leicester City (25), Man Utd (22), and Southampton (22). Recurring. pic.twitter.com/sy0zrtoakm
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 30, 2025Enter O’Reilly. The youngster hogged the headlines in the last round by scoring a double against Plymouth, and here he was asked to maraud forward, which allowed him to provide two assists as City continued the first-half ploy, just this time a bit more successfully. The City game-plan was still difficult to assess — De Bruyne and Foden continued to play poorly — but the equaliser subdued Bournemouth.Guardiola says he sees O’Reilly as a holding midfielder, despite the youngster playing all his fledgling career further up the pitch. The youngster himself does not necessarily agree with his manager. But until then he will play at left-back, it seems, and if City win the FA Cup he will be a big part of it.Sam LeeHaaland’s mixed afternoonIt says something — although I am not sure exactly what — that Haaland being forced off with a foot injury is a real worry for City, despite him missing three huge chances in this game before he eventually did net their second-half equaliser.Haaland has been one of City’s most consistent performers this campaign without ever really recapturing the thrilling form certainly of his first season at the club.He has remained their biggest source of goals by an absolute mile with 21 in the league, 14 ahead of the second highest scorer. The striker really should have had a hat-trick early on but he planted a header wide, saw a penalty saved and then clipped over after being put through one against one. While those kind of misses are in his locker, it is a cartoonish representation of what you get with him.
Kepa dives to his right to gather Haaland’s penalty at the second attempt (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)Any prolonged absence now from the injury suffered as he clattered into an advertising hoarding under pressure from Lewis Cook will be a big miss for City as they look to finish their season as well as possible.Regardless, his second-half equaliser established Haaland as the first player to score 30 goals in all competitions in each of his first three seasons while playing for a Premier League club since Ruud van Nistelrooy achieved the feat with Manchester United in the years after his arrival at Old Trafford in 2001.Sam LeeHow did Bournemouth initially disrupt City?Guardiola would have been expecting an energetic, high-pressing approach from his opponents this afternoon — his team were comprehensively out-battled here back in November — but even the most carefully laid build-up plans can falter under the sheer pressure Bournemouth put you under close to your own goal.There were two incidents in the opening three minutes of goalkeeper Ederson blasting the ball into touch, but neither was particularly his fault. Even when the Brazilian was ludicrously composed minutes later, producing a drag-back to get out of pressure, the City goalkeeper found himself surrounded by four Bournemouth shirts in his own penalty area.
Guardiola endures his side’s first-half toils (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)City managed to escape on occasion, as they did on 28 minutes with a flowing one-touch move that ended up with a Kevin de Bruyne cross, but even then, they were almost dispossessed moments earlier with Abdukodir Khusanov absorbing a healthy barge from Justin Kluivert to keep the move going.Bournemouth’s opener came from a similarly aggressive press — Cook sensing his moment to inch forward and intercept a wayward Matheus Nunes pass — and while they struggled to keep up that intensity in the second half, their off-the-ball aggression gave them a foothold in a game that, by sitting in and absorbing pressure, they likely would have struggled to effect.Thom HarrisAnd how did they change it?If City’s first-half display was frantic, panicked and patternless as they struggled to make their way through a packed, pinball midfield, their second was characterised by the individual quality that has dug them out of so many holes before.Guardiola’s only half-time change was to replace Khusanov with academy graduate O’Reilly, seeing Josko Gvardiol revert to a centre-back role. That gave the 20-year-old license to stride forward from a full-back role, making the most of the space vacated by winger Justin Kluivert when he tucked in to defend centrally in an attempt to pen City in.Switches of play and quick passing moves to that side quickly became an avenue for City to escape.
O’Reilly towers above Nunes, Marmoush and Bernardo Silva celebrating City’s second goal (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)Their equaliser came after a storming, 50-yard run on to a De Bruyne through ball, and while the second was scrappier — O’Reilly nipping in to pinch the ball from an off-balance Antoine Semenyo — it was another moment of positivity and aggression down the left that helped turn the tide.City were soon playing Bournemouth at their own game, stealing the ball from Ilya Zabarnyi for a late chance, before De Bruyne made a dangerous interception with five minutes to go after a wayward build-up pass.In the end, technical quality told — but it needed a bit of physicality, pace and duel-winning bite to wrestle the ball, and the game, back their way.Thom HarrisWhat did Guardiola say?We will bring you the City manager’s thoughts after he has spoken at his post-match press conference.What next for City?Wednesday, April 2: Leicester (Home), Premier League, 7.45pm UK, 2.45pm ETRecommended reading(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
