Besides the incredibly exciting race for Champions League qualification, the second most prominent feature of English football this season is the importance of the FA Cup. Even the giant Manchester City now has to rely on the FA Cup – the only competition that can bring them a trophy this season.
Not only Manchester City, but seven out of the eight teams that reached the FA Cup quarter-finals are Premier League teams. All of them have ambitions to win the world's oldest continuously existing football competition. This is the highest level of FA Cup quarter-finals (considering the number of Premier League teams participating) compared to the last three seasons. The only team not from the Premier League to reach the quarter-finals is Preston North End (second division). They advanced to this stage mainly because they haven't faced a higher-level opponent since the start of the season.
Manager Pep Guardiola hopes Man. City will win a title this season.
The match didn't go as expected when second-division side Plymouth Argyle took the lead away from home, but ultimately succumbed to a 1-3 defeat against hosts Manchester City. Observers paid particular attention to this match because a Plymouth victory would have been the biggest upset in the entire history of the FA Cup. They had beaten Premier League side Brentford in the third round and Liverpool in the fourth. Until scoring against Manchester City, Plymouth had remained undefeated against Premier League opponents in the FA Cup this season. Ultimately, 19-year-old left-back Nico O'Reilly became Manchester City's unexpected hero, scoring two goals to help Pep Guardiola's team come from behind to win 3-1. Erling Haaland then assisted Kevin de Bruyne for the final goal in the 90th minute, ending all of Plymouth's hopes.
Chelsea made an offer for O'Reilly in the final days of the recent mid-season transfer window, but Man City refused to sell. When asked about this, Guardiola replied: "Sometimes you have to make the right decision." Until O'Reilly scored his second goal, Plymouth had consistently shown they were capable of causing surprises.
Bournemouth, Aston Villa, and Crystal Palace are other teams that have reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup this season. A single win would set a new record for Bournemouth, as they have never progressed beyond the quarter-finals in the FA Cup before. On one hand, Bournemouth fans are hopeful because their manager, Andoni Iraola, is considered an expert in leading smaller teams to success in Spanish cup competitions. On the other hand, this is still a fantastic season for Bournemouth. They are fiercely competing for a Champions League spot in the Premier League. In the fifth round, Bournemouth beat Wolverhampton on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Every team has the right to hope to lift the FA Cup, as they only need to win two more matches to reach the final. Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea are strong teams that have already been eliminated from this competition. It's almost certain that England will be granted a fifth Champions League spot next season by UEFA, given the progress in the three European cups this season. If that fifth spot were given to the FA Cup winner, how much more exciting would the race be from the quarter-finals onwards?
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cup-fa-bat-dau-hap-dan-18525030221240432.htm
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