Bournemouth 1-2 Man City: Clouds lift to Guardiola as his side head back to Wembley in FA Cup

As the gloom lifted and sunshine bathed Manchester City in their match at Bournemouth, Pep Guardiola's body language released all the pent-up frustration of this season. Man City's form has plummeted this season, and Guardiola has appeared tormented and pained after historically winning four consecutive Premier League titles.

The FA Cup has become the sole remaining target to prevent Guardiola from ending a season empty-handed for the first time since 2016-17. That was also the only season he didn't win a trophy as a coach. Watching Guardiola lead Man City to a 2-1 comeback victory at the Vitality Stadium at close range stood in stark contrast to his own assertion that even winning the FA Cup wouldn't compensate for underachieving in the Premier League and Champions League.

It was quite a spectacle to see someone accustomed to glory, built for success, displaying relief, celebration, and unbridled joy when Man City were expected to win. After repeatedly failing to find solutions to the crisis, Guardiola finally publicly savored a taste of victory. Of course, by their own standards, the crisis has weighed heavily on Man City.

Guardiola had said that when they came to the Vitality Stadium last November, they were "on holiday wearing flip-flops," while their opponents were playing seriously. But this time, it was all about winning. He added: "In November we came here on holiday against a team who were competitive." The only thing reminiscent of a holiday was the fine weather on the south coast of England with the arrival of British Summer Time. Before securing victory, Man City had to weather a storm of their own making.

From the first minute, Guardiola burned with a desire to win, pacing up and down the technical area like a live wire throughout the match. After the final whistle, he celebrated the victory, which secured their seventh consecutive FA Cup semi-final appearance, this time against Nottingham Forest. As with all great coaches, Guardiola maintained a calm, analytical mind amidst the fiery touchline behavior, making changes that turned the quarter-final around when Man City trailed to an Euanilson goal at halftime.

Guardiola replaced struggling center-back Abdoulaye Khadre Diaby, moved Josko Gvardiol into the center, and brought on the talented 20-year-old Nico O'Reilly at left-back. As Guardiola confirmed, O'Reilly's natural position is number 10, but he made an impact on the flank, creating the equalizer for Erling Haaland, who missed a penalty in the first half, and then assisting substitute Omar Marmoush for the winning goal.

At the heart of it all was Guardiola – animated, energetic, demonstrating with every action the importance of the FA Cup to him and Man City. Even by his own standards, Guardiola rarely appears so invested. He has a huge rebuilding task on his hands, and some cracks are still visible here, with an aging squad, including what he calls "legendary" players like Ederson, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kevin De Bruyne, being relied upon.

This could be the last chance for some of these Man City players to compete for glory. And using Matheus Nunes at right-back, even his greatest admirers wouldn't claim he possesses the qualities to excel in that position, shows Guardiola's desperation in juggling some resources this season. However, it's about the here and now – not the future. Guardiola and his players activated their trophy-winning muscle memory at a crucial moment.

If the FA Cup is genuinely difficult to count as a consolation prize for Guardiola and Man City this season, then you could have fooled everyone watching him on the touchline. Winning the FA Cup doesn't mask the scale of the rebuild Guardiola must undertake to restore Man City to their former glory, but this great old trophy will certainly provide momentum to move forward. The club also expects to learn the outcome of the hearing into [115 alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c3w8209qqyeo) soon.

Guardiola's fist-pumping celebration of Haaland's equalizing goal and his reaction to Marmoush's winner were bursts of wild joy. The manager even received a yellow card for arguing with officials. Haaland had a mixed day, missing his third penalty in his last six attempts before limping off with an ankle injury after scoring.

The equalizing goal meant that he is the first player since Ruud van Nistelrooy for Manchester United from 2001-02 to 2003-04 to score 30 or more goals in all competitions in each of his first three seasons with a Premier League club. At times, it looked as if Guardiola was doing everything he could to stop himself from getting involved in the game, applauding his players while also expressing angry disapproval at their careless moments.

At the final whistle, Guardiola's joy was palpable in front of the sun-drenched Man City fans. He strode to each player, enveloping them in warm hugs, even kissing some on the face. Then, Guardiola joined in the celebrations with the away fans, leading them in chants of "We've got Guardiola" and other songs before grabbing young hero O'Reilly and pushing him towards the stands to receive the praise he deserved for his match-winning performance.

Who could blame Guardiola, as O'Reilly is becoming Man City's FA Cup talisman. He has been directly involved in five goals in his four FA Cup appearances this season, including three goals and two assists. O'Reilly is also the first Man City substitute to assist two goals in a match since Gundogan against Leeds United in December 2021. Guardiola said: "Nico is a number 10. He has such great qualities in the final third and has so much vision. We thought he could also do that for us on the left, and he did."

If Guardiola is looking for important signs of a brighter future, then O'Reilly's composure and elegance certainly provide one. The Spaniard added: "We played a brilliant game and created incredible chances, missing a penalty. We conceded a goal from one mistake. Our approach was fantastic. Seven times in a row in the FA Cup semi-finals. No team has done that, and it's difficult for any other team to do what these legendary players, new players, and old players have done."

As Man City move closer to another trophy, Guardiola has proven once again that even amidst unfamiliar struggles, the habit of winning trophies is hard to shake for great coaches and players.