Bournemouth ∙ Manchester City need not despair. They have the FA Cup ahead of them to bolster their hopes of a cup this season. Manchester City reached the FA Cup semi-finals after defeating Bournemouth 2-1. The only concern for City in the meantime is that superstar Erling Haaland returned from injury during the game.
Bournemouth’s Lewis Cook (left) falls on Haaland’s leg during the match. Haaland was injured in the fall and was unable to finish the match.
Bournemouth took the lead in the 21st minute through Brazilian striker Evanilsen. Erling Haaland, who had missed a penalty, equalised for City in the second half. City’s star players woke up with Haaland’s goal in the 49th minute. Haaland had to leave the field with an ankle injury just an hour into the game.
In the 56th minute, Bournemouth right-back Lewis Cook fell on Haaland’s leg. Haaland went off the field after receiving first aid, but the pain increased and the game was abandoned.
Haaland was replaced by Egyptian player Omar Marmouch. Marmouch scored within 2 minutes of coming on; it was City’s winning goal (2–1). Manchester City reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the 7th consecutive season. City’s semi-final clash will be against Nottingham Forest next month.
In the second semi-final, Aston Villa will face Crystal Palace. City is the only team to have previously won the FA Cup among the teams that reached the semi-finals. Manchester City, who were eliminated from the Champions League and finished 5th in the English Premier League, have only one hope of winning the FA Cup this season.
∙ Inter-Napoli in the title race in Italy
Rome ∙ Napoli, who defeated AC Milan 2-1 in Italian Serie A football, set up a head-to-head battle with Inter Milan in the title race. Napoli’s victory was thanks to first-half goals from Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku.
Inter Milan, who defeated Udinese 2-1, are at the top of the table (67 points from 30 games). Napoli is only 3 points behind. Atalanta were eliminated from the title race after losing 1-0 to Fiorentina. They are in third place, 9 points behind Inter.
