Manchester City have broken a fresh FA Cup record after beating Newcastle United 2-0 in a quarter-final clash at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.
The holders may not have been at their sumptuous best, but they were never required to shift out of second gear and were in complete control for much of the contest, with two deflected first-half goals from Bernardo Silva proving to be the difference for Pep Guardiola's men.
He opened the scoring in the 13th minute when his shot from the right-hand side of the penalty area deflected off the back of Dan Burn's outstretched leg and looped over Magpies goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Bernardo's second strike on the half-hour mark came from a similar position on the edge of the box and went in off the head of Sven Botman, much to the frustration of Dubravka who looked on course to make a routine diving save.
Newcastle made four changes midway through the second half as they searched for a route back into the tie, but they lacked a killer instinct in the final third and came up against a formidable opponent in Man City, who have secured safe passage to another Wembley semi-final.
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The Citizens have now won each of their last 10 FA Cup matches and have put together an impressive 22-game unbeaten run in all competitions, while they have also extended their undefeated streak at the Etihad to 38 matches – a run which began in December 2022.
Victory over Newcastle has also seen Man City become the first team in FA Cup history to reach six successive semi-finals in the competition.
Since Guardiola took the reins in 2016, the six-time FA Cup winners have reached seven semi-finals in eight seasons and are bidding to win their third trophy in this competition under the Catalan boss.
The Citizens suffered a shock defeat to League One outfit Wigan Athletic in the fifth round of the 2017-18 competition, but they went all the way to lift the trophy the following season before coming out on top again last year, beating rivals Manchester United in the final.
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Phil Foden was named the Man of the Match following another fine display against Newcastle, and the in-form attacker has insisted that treble-chasing Man City still have the "hunger" to win more silverware.
"I thought we controlled the game really well. We had a lot of the ball and tried to find the right moment to attack, and I think we did that really well," Foden told BBC Match of the Day.
"We were always talking about [winning more trophies]. The hunger's still there. We'll keep going.
"It's one of the best squads I've ever seen. At this stage of the season we're going to need everyone."
Discussing his own form, the England international added: "I'm really happy with it. I'm just playing with a smile on my face and hopefully I'll continue to do that."
Man City will discover their FA Cup semi-final opponents when the draw is made after Man United's showdown with Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.
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