A goal from Yaya Toure gave Manchester City a 1-0 win in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday and shattered local rivals Manchester United's hopes of achieving a treble-winning season.
The Ivorian midfielder took advantage of a mistake by Michael Carrick to break the deadlock early in the second half with a cool finish past Edwin van der Sar.
United's hopes of staging a comeback were dealt a severe blow 20 minutes later when Paul Scholes was sent off for a reckless and high challenge on Pablo Zabaleta.
City had grown in confidence throughout the match but it was United who came closest to taking the lead in the first half.
With 15 minutes of the match gone, a slick passing move between Ji-Sung Park and Scholes put Dimitar Berbatov through on goal but the Bulgarian's shot was superbly saved by City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Berbatov was at the heart of the action again just one minute later but somehow managed to fire over from close range after excellent work by Nani down the left.
City improved the longer the first half continued and came close to opening the scoring through Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott.
Roberto Mancini's men carried that improvement into the second half with Mario Balotelli going close shortly before Toure created the game's decisive moment.
United looked to respond immediately and came closest to an equaliser with a free kick from Nani but Hart was able to tip the strike onto the crossbar.
City will find out who they will face in the final on Sunday when Bolton take on Stoke City in the second semi-final.
The Ivorian midfielder took advantage of a mistake by Michael Carrick to break the deadlock early in the second half with a cool finish past Edwin van der Sar.
United's hopes of staging a comeback were dealt a severe blow 20 minutes later when Paul Scholes was sent off for a reckless and high challenge on Pablo Zabaleta.
City had grown in confidence throughout the match but it was United who came closest to taking the lead in the first half.
With 15 minutes of the match gone, a slick passing move between Ji-Sung Park and Scholes put Dimitar Berbatov through on goal but the Bulgarian's shot was superbly saved by City goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Berbatov was at the heart of the action again just one minute later but somehow managed to fire over from close range after excellent work by Nani down the left.
City improved the longer the first half continued and came close to opening the scoring through Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott.
Roberto Mancini's men carried that improvement into the second half with Mario Balotelli going close shortly before Toure created the game's decisive moment.
United looked to respond immediately and came closest to an equaliser with a free kick from Nani but Hart was able to tip the strike onto the crossbar.
City will find out who they will face in the final on Sunday when Bolton take on Stoke City in the second semi-final.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire