Manchester City’s idea had been to channel the pain of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid in midweek into something more positive, and that was certainly most true for one of them.
Bernardo Silva was a snapshot of so many negative emotions after his terrible penalty in the shootout with Madrid turned the tide sharply against his team. This is what redemption looks like.
Related: Manchester City vs Chelsea: FA Cup semi-final – live
It had been a remarkable performance from City as they fought to keep their hopes of a silverware finish alive for another season. The double treble was gone, but the double double was not. Chelsea looked threatening, created big chances, especially for Nicolas Jackson, and they had been the better team in the second half.
However, this City team – unlike them – knows how to get the job done. With six minutes of normal time remaining, they broke through and delivered the decisive blow, setting up a possible repeat of last season’s final against Manchester United. Either them or Coventry City, which plays the second semi-final on Sunday.
Kevin De Bruyne had been a symbol of their performance; trying everything, but not seeing it all work out in any way. But when he continued with a pass towards the byline of the substitute, Jérémy Doku, his return shot off the leg of Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, and there was Silva, opening his body to guide the shot towards the goal.
When the ball deflected off Marc Cucurella, Petrovic was beaten and City felt that familiar rush of elation. Chelsea, on the other hand, felt it all slipping away. They have regularly been a match for the Premier League’s top three, despite a season of toil and dysfunction, the sense that a falling out or some sort of disaster is looming.
And so here they were. It wasn’t enough. When one substitute, Ben Chilwell, failed to find another, Raheem Sterling, with a cross towards the end, it was time for their supporters to deal with the regret.
City won the FA Cup here last June, the second of three steps towards immortality, but it was the defeat of Madrid that shaped this match from their perspective – and possibly to some extent Chelsea’s.
“It’s going to be difficult for City,” Mauricio Pochettino had said on Friday, referring to the emotional tension of the penalty shootout. An attempt at mind games by the Chelsea manager? It was the first taste of defeat for City since early December and Guardiola had to take care of the rebound without Erling Haaland, who suffered a muscle injury against Madrid.
Guardiola started with Phil Foden as one of his central midfielders, Silva working from the right wing and Julián Álvarez up front. It was Foden who could have given City the lead in the fifteenth minute after Álvarez had made a square pass to De Bruyne and played the through ball. Foden only had Petrovic to beat, but his first touch was a little too heavy, making the angle too tight and the chance was lost.
Chelsea had nightmarish memories of their previous visit to Wembley, which was before the Carabao Cup final loss to Liverpool, when they appeared to stop playing in extra time. They started that day nervously. There were a few more wobbles here early on, especially when they tried to play from the back into the City press, which they got away with. About. The hearts of the Chelsea fans were racing.
There was encouragement too, with Jackson, who started at number 9, standing out with his sharp turns and pace. He certainly promoted his threat to John Stones and it was a shame, from a Chelsea perspective, that Jackson couldn’t finish after 29 minutes when Enzo Fernández cleared the ball.
No one in sky blue was going to catch Jackson and it looked good when he dropped his shoulder and went left, around Stefan Ortega. Then he hesitated and didn’t shoot, as howls of frustration rang out from Chelsea’s side. Jackson then played catch-up. The pass inside for a teammate was never on.
Chelsea grew into the game. Conor Gallagher worked ferociously on the left side of midfield creating the hustle, and at times they got forward with some slick one-touch moves. Noni Madueke had a shot blocked by Stones and the man seemingly everyone had come to see – Cole Palmer – almost worked his magic in the 37th minute. He showed his silky skills and movement to slot past Rodri and take advantage of the shooting opportunity. Ortega went down and pushed him away.
Alvarez almost created something at the other end after his own quick trickery, while Silva was denied by a Cucurella clearance, although Foden was flagged for offside in the middle. Chelsea could take heart from the statistic that showed City had zero shots on target before half-time.
Pochettino has often had to lament the looseness of his players and their lack of ruthlessness. So there was no need for a mind reader at the start of the second half when Gallagher released Jackson and he could not beat Ortega, the City goalkeeper. In the second phase, Palmer crossed from the right and Jackson headed towards Ortega from close range.
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Chelsea had to smell opportunities. City lacked the control on which they built their fearsome reputation. Chelsea seemed to have the weapons to hurt them. Jackson’s speed was frightening and there was a moment where he almost won a running race with Kyle Walker. Palmer glistened with menace.
He wanted a penalty for handball against Jack Grealish, after hitting a free-kick against him into the city wall – there was none – while Palmer would release Moisés Caicedo, after turning away from Manuel Akanji. Caicedo’s last ball was bad.
At the other end, Foden shot too close to Petrovic and Doku did the same. De Bruyne sent another effort wide.