LONDON – FA Cup holders Manchester City booked a return to
Wembley Stadium for the semi-finals with Sunday's 2-0 win over
Newcastle United.
City will now face Arsenal after Dani Ceballos struck in injury time
for a 2-1 win against Sheffield United.
Kevin de Bruyne scored a penalty in the 37th minute before Raheem
Sterling sealed City's result with his curled finish on 68 minutes.
"We should have scored more," said de Bruyne. "We had a few problems
with penalties this year. The gaffer (manager) asked me to step up
and I have scored a couple now."
Eight-time winners Chelsea also progressed to the final
four after Ross Barkley's goal made the difference in a 1-0 win at
Leicester City.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/ManUtd?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ManUtd @ChelseaFC @Arsenal @ManCity #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/ICWKabxBmF
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup)
Chelsea will play Manchester United, who beat Norwich City 2-1 in
extra time on Saturday, for their semi-final.
Both ties will be played at England's national football ground on the
weekend of July 18-19.
Ivory Coast striker Nicolas Pepe's 25th-minute penalty grabbed the
lead for Arsenal after hosts Sheffield had John Lundstram's goal on
eight minutes disallowed for offside.
Chris Wilder's Blades had another goal rubbed out for offside from
John Egan's header but David McGoldrick equalised with three minutes
left as extra-time loomed.
Spanish midfielder Ceballos then skipped past the Sheffield defence
and slipped in the winning goal at the near post to send the 13-time
winners to Wembley.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/EmiratesFACup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EmiratesFACup #NEWMCI pic.twitter.com/J6ClxDheXF
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup)
"I am really pleased. This is a difficult place to come and get a
win. We are back at Wembley," said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.
"I knew Sheffield United were going to have moments. They are so good
at their game plans and putting teams under pressure. But we were
able to win."
City bombarded the Newcastle defence with 12 shots in the opening 20
minutes, while restricting their opponents to just one hit in the
first half.
Soon they were rewarded for their efforts when a push on Gabriel
Jesus from Newcastle's Fabian Schar brought a penalty to the FA Cup
holders.
De Bruyne grabbed a goal on his 29th birthday as the Belgian stroked
home the spot kick with ease to give City a deserved half-time lead.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/ManCity?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ManCityfans 😉
Bring on the weekend of 18 & 19 July 🙌 pic.twitter.com/6Gk5IlVf93
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup)
In the second half, Sterling charged at Newcastle's line, turned in
and his curled effort doubled City's advantage and ultimately booked
their return to Wembley.
The former Premier League champions are still on course for a
domestic double after they won the League Cup against Aston Villa in
February.
Barkley found Chelsea's breakthrough by converting Willian's right
wing cross in the 63rd minute.
Chelsea's latest appearance at Wembley will be their third semi-final
in the last four years of the competition.
In making the final four, Arsenal equal the record for semi-final
appearances with 30, which Manchester United reached after their
Norwich success.
Sheffield thought they had moved ahead early when Lundstram finished
off Oli McBurnie's looping header, but the video assistant referee
(VAR) stepped in and kept the sides goalless.
Alexandre Lacazette tumbled on the edge of Sheffield's box after
Chris Basham clipped the back of his boot and referee Paul Tierney
immediately pointed to the penalty spot.
Pepe wasted no time in choosing where the ball was going as he lashed
the ball in the bottom left corner for a first half lead.
McGoldrick briefly ended Sheffield United's frustrations with valid
goal for the hosts after Arsenal failed to clear a launched throw in
with three minutes remaining.
A mis-hit clearance from Sead Kolasinac bounced off a team-mate and
fell to McGoldrick who bundled the ball over the line.
However, Ceballos picked up a loose ball in their box and threaded
it through goalkeeper Dean Henderson's legs, securing victory and
Arsenal's Wembley ticket for the semi-finals in three weeks' time.