Manchester City stages impressive comeback, Chelsea narrowly escapes in FA Cup

Manchester City made up to 10 changes to their starting lineup to defeat Newcastle United with a 3-1 score on Saturday, thereby securing a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. Meanwhile, Chelsea had to work very hard to overcome the lower-tier team Wrexham with a 4-2 score.

Manchester City comes back to defeat Newcastle United

The coach Pep Guardiola of Manchester City, amidst the need to allocate resources for a packed schedule in the Premier League and Champions League, changed almost the entire lineup compared to the 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest earlier in the week. Only Matheus Nunes was the sole player who retained his position in the starting lineup.

On the other side of the battle line, manager Eddie Howe made only four changes to the lineup of Newcastle, the team that had just secured a late victory over Manchester United earlier in the week. The hero of that match, Will Osula was given a rare opportunity to start.

The home team started strongly at St James' Park and soon deservedly scored the opening goal when Harvey Barnes finished neatly after a pass from Sandro Tonali.

However, Manchester City equalized in the 39th minute in a rather peculiar manner. A dangerous pass from Jeremy Doku penetrated Newcastle's defense and reached Savinho. The Brazilian player almost stood still and let the ball bounce off his foot before rolling into the net.

Immediately after halftime, Manchester City reversed the momentum when Omar Marmoush shot from close range to roof the opponent's net. The Egyptian striker continued to shine in the 65th minute with a powerful shot scoring his second goal, allowing the visiting team to fully control the match.

Afterwards, Guardiola utilized a series of international players from the bench to refresh the lineup. Manchester City faced almost no further danger before officially securing their ninth FA Cup quarter-final spot in the past 10 years.

Guardiola's team will travel to the stadium of Real Madrid mid-next week. In the Premier League, Manchester City still has a chance to compete for the title but is currently trailing Arsenal by 7 points after stumbling against Nottingham Forest.

Chelsea narrowly escapes

Chelsea also advanced to the round of the top eight teams after a 4-2 victory, but they endured a difficult match against the second-tier team Wrexham, who twice surged ahead to lead at the Racecourse Ground.

Wrexham - the team owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney,opened the scoring thanks to Sam Smith. However, the visiting team equalized just before halftime through an own goal.

The second half unfolded at a high pace. In the 78th minute, Callum Doyle put the Welsh team ahead once again. But just four minutes later, Josh Acheampong leveled the score for Chelsea.

The turning point of the match occurred during stoppage time when the midfielder George Dobson of Wrexham was sent off. In the first period of extra time, the winger Alejandro Garnacho scored with a volley to put Chelsea ahead. Towards the end of the match, a late strike by Joao Pedro aftercoming on from the bench sealed the score and made Chelsea's victory more convincing.

After the match, Garnacho shared with BBC: "This is a fantastic victory. I think this was one of our toughest matches this season. We are very proud to advance. You have to fight hard, and the opponent today played very well."