Manchester City roar back late on to down Southampton and reach FA Cup final

[p]The [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/southampton/WdKOwxDM/"]Saints[/a] arrived at Wembley for the first time since the 2023/24 Championship playoff final, having already claimed Premier League scalps in Fulham and then-leaders Arsenal.[/p][p]In their way stood the current top-flight table-toppers, who were contesting an eighth successive last-four meeting, making eight changes from their last outing. [/p][p]That didn’t seem to affect [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]City[/a]’s early rhythm, as they twice looked to get in behind, only to be denied by marginal [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marmoush-omar/44pYRYIC/"]Omar Marmoush[/a] offside calls.[/p][p]The assistant’s flag took centre stage again during a busy opening quarter-hour, this time going up as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/scienza-leo/AP2xf66T/"]Leo Scienza[/a] slotted home what he thought was the game’s opener at the other end.[/p][embed guid="4b24e220-b5b3-40ab-9ed5-87618aa6999d" url="https://x.com/EmiratesFACup/status/2048106429295284378" social-type="twitter" /][p]Southampton were certainly holding their own in a competitive first half, but City were typically dominant in terms of possession and efforts, with Marmoush going close from a near-post shot that was smartly turned away by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/daniel-peretz/MVgAbUb4/"]Daniel Peretz[/a].[/p][p]That proved to be the only effort on target for either side before the interval, meaning the Championship side failed to fire a shot of any kind before the break.[/p][p]Maintaining their record of not conceding a first-half goal in the FA Cup this season, Southampton will have been pleased with the half-time stalemate, which almost served as a platform to take the lead were it not for a well-timed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ake-nathan/6LBvaQoh/"]Nathan Ake[/a] recovery challenge to thwart [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fellows-tom/bFmncvID/"]Tom Fellows[/a].[/p][p]However, that wasn’t a sign of things to come, as Pep Guardiola made a double change before the hour mark, amping up the pressure on the Saints.[/p][p]They remained defensively resolute, prompting further reinforcements in the shape of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/haaland-erling/UmV9iQmE/"]Erling Haaland[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/o-reilly-nico/xOrYaNWc/"]Nico O'Reilly[/a], and soon after, they were hanging on when Peretz denied [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gonzalez-nicolas/ID3evg0L/"]Gonzalez[/a] before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/reijnders-tijani/f17EnPl3/"]Tijjani Reijnders[/a] volleyed wide.[/p][embed guid="ce547be7-b962-4af2-b9b7-8ca8e3fcf51f" url="https://x.com/SouthamptonFC/status/2048099545863569513" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]Remarkably, after relentless attacks from City, it was Southampton fans who were in raptures 11 minutes from time when [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/azaz-finn/UTdkzeL7/"]Finn Azaz[/a] collected the ball on the turn and bent an unstoppable effort beyond [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/trafford-james/ET616yZQ/"]James Trafford[/a] with his second touch.[/b][/p][p][b]Unfortunately for those supporters, that lead lasted just four minutes, thanks to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/doku-jeremy/lMHcYK4f/"]Jeremy Doku[/a], whose arrowed strike took a notable deflection off [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bree-james/xbdEc7Ag/"]James Bree[/a] that diverted the ball beyond Peretz.[/b][/p][p][b]Just four minutes later, Gonzalez found himself in space, arrowing in an effort from range that turned the tie on its head with little time remaining.[/b][/p][embed guid="2cad23cb-a3ec-4773-93a6-75c90e86a4b4" url="https://x.com/ManCity/status/2048103593450828004" social-type="twitter" /][p]Southampton threw everything forward, surviving a counter-attack with a goalline clearance to deny [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/savinho/faynRsvT/"]Savinho[/a], but there was ultimately no response, seeing City through to the final at their expense.[/p][p]As a second division side, Southampton won this competition for the only time in 1975/76, but they won’t have the opportunity to do that again as focus shifts to the Championship promotion race.[/p][p]As for Guardiola’s side, dreams of another domestic treble live on, with a final appearance against either Chelsea or Leeds United awaiting.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gonzalez-nicolas/ID3evg0L/"]Nico Gonzalez[/a] (Manchester City)[/b][/p][image alt="Full-time stats" id="e8730163-905e-4adb-8ee7-41cb1f159eec" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="55d0f396-68ca-4e34-a81a-76c1d047f28a" original-width="1200" original-height="1200" /][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/manchester-city-Wtn9Stg0/southampton-WdKOwxDM/?mid=QJ08pSZF"]Click here to see all the stats of the match[/a].[/b][/p]