Bristol City 0-3 Manchester City
MANCHESTER CITY SAW off plucky Bristol City to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 3-0 victory at Ashton Gate.
Phil Foden scored twice and Kevin De Bruyne added late gloss as the six-time FA Cup winners ended Bristol City’s unbeaten 12-game run before a capacity crowd in the West Country.
The scoreline was harsh on the hosts, who fell behind to Foden’s seventh-minute strike and remained very much in the contest well into the final quarter.
But Foden’s deflected strike 16 minutes from time and a fine De Bruyne finish ensured the visitors’ place in the last eight.
De Bruyne returned after missing two games through illness and captained a Manchester City side showing five changes from Saturday’s Premier League win at Bournemouth.
England midfielder Kalvin Phillips made only his second start since leaving Leeds last summer as Ederson, Erling Haaland, Ilkay Gundogan, Jack Grealish and Rodri began the night on the bench.
Phillips was clearly determined to impress after his injury troubles and only 63 seconds had elapsed when he struck the crossbar from 25 yards.
In a frantic opening Manuel Akanji’s slip gave Sam Bell a shooting opportunity that ended up being deflected wide and the visitors were ahead soon after.
Riyad Mahrez worked a clever one-two with De Bruyne and the Algerian’s cross to the far post was swept high into the net by Foden, who scored for the second successive game.
Bristol City’s response was a loud penalty shout after Mark Sykes tangled with Rico Lewis. It appeared a legitimate appeal but referee Andre Marriner was unmoved and, with no VAR in operation, home fans were left frustrated.
Julian Alvarez miskicked in front of the home goal from Foden’s cross, but Bristol City were acquitting themselves well and getting a fair amount of joy down their left flank.
Alex Scott shot straight at Stefan Ortega and Bell fired over after Tomas Kalas caught De Bruyne in possession.
Manchester City’s threat was also evident as Mahrez saw his volley headed off the line by Kalas and Ruben Dias tested Max O’Leary with a header.
Mahrez was making his 400th appearance in English football and Robins boss Nigel Pearson, who signed him for Leicester in 2014 from French club Le Havre, could not resist having a word with the Algerian when he went to ground following a touchline challenge from Cameron Pring.
Ederson replaced Ortega at half-time and Manchester City took charge of the contest without working O’Leary until Alvarez forced him into a save low to his right.
Foden was caught late and took instant retribution on Sykes to earn a yellow card and a word from his manager Pep Guardiola to stay focused.
The temperature was rising both on and off the pitch as the contest became more balanced and Bristol City fans urged their players to seize the moment.
It almost arrived when Scott dispossessed Dias for Andreas Weimann to send over a cross which Bell headed just wide.
But it was all over when De Bruyne played a wonderful through ball to Nathan Ake before Alvarez helped it on to Foden, and the Belgium midfielder ensured he would have the last word from 20 yards.
Fulham 2-0 Leeds United
Manor Solomon struck for a fourth time in as many matches as Fulham reached the quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Leeds.
Both goals showcased individual skill, with Solomon’s curled effort second only to a stunning strike from distance to break the deadlock from Joao Palhinha.
Leeds continued to show improvement since Javi Gracia’s appointment but were unable to book a place in the last eight for the first time in 20 years despite having a number of chances, including a slightly controversial disallowed goal.
Fulham, who have exceeded all expectations in the top flight this year, reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2009-10.
Georginio Rutter thought he had scored his first goal for Leeds when he tapped the ball home after Marek Rodak had palmed the ball into the path of the 20-year-old, but referee Chris Kavanagh ruled it out for a soft foul in the area and VAR did not intervene.
It was Fulham who took the lead after 21 minutes when Palhinha capitalised after intercepting an attempted pass. The Portugal international drove forward before expertly curling the ball into the top corner with a stunning finish for his first club goal since December.
Leeds came close again in the final moments of first-half stoppage time when Wilfried Gnonto’s looped ball into the box was headed goalwards by Rutter, but the ball dropped onto the inside of the post and Fulham were able to clear.
Rodak was called into action early in the second half, parrying behind a Gnonto shot after he was played in by Crysencio Summerville.
Leeds continued to test the goalkeeper and started the second half significantly more brightly than the hosts.
Just as the visitors had been piling on the pressure for an equaliser, it was Fulham who doubled their lead through the in-form Solomon.
The winger, on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk, curled in from the edge of the box after playing a one-two with Aleksandar Mitrovic to create the opening.
Solomon has impressed in recent weeks after a difficult season when he spent almost five months on the sidelines after sustaining a serious knee injury, with his recovery carefully managed by the club.
After going 2-0 up the hosts continued to push, with Mitrovic having a goal ruled out for offside, and despite a flurry of chances for Leeds in the final 10 minutes, Rodak remained equal to them.
Leicester City 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn stunned Leicester as Tyrhys Dolan and uncapped former Republic of Ireland call-up Sammie Szmodics cashed in on awful defending to clinch a 2-1 win and send Rovers into the last eight for the first time since 2015.
Szmodics, 27, qualifies for Ireland through his Longford-born grandmother and was called up to Stephen Kenny’s squad in May 2021 for the summer friendlies against Andorra and Hungary, the latter of whom he also qualifies to represent. A shoulder injury in Ireland training forced his withdrawal from the squad before he could be capped.
Jon Dahl Tomasson’s side tonight upset the 2021 winners, despite Kelechi Iheanacho pulling a goal back.
Brendan Rodgers celebrated four years in charge at the King Power Stadium on Sunday and this defeat marked his 200th game.
No-one can dispute the progress in his first two years, which culminated in the first FA Cup triumph in the club’s history, but this season in particular has been a slog.
Two wins in their last nine Premier League games has long since halted their momentum away from the relegation zone but reaching an FA Cup quarter-final would have given a natural boost ahead of the final scramble over the line.
Instead, defeat by Blackburn, inconsistent in an average Championship, is another nail in the coffin of a season the Foxes would rather forget.
Not that Rovers were undeserving winners. They seized on every mistake – and there were many – to punish the hosts and maintained their composure as Leicester launched a late assault, with Daniel Amartey hitting the post.
Six changes, including a first start for Ricardo Pereira since May 2022 after his recovery from a ruptured Achilles, still did not initially dilute the Foxes’ early quality and they should have gone ahead after eight minutes.
Dennis Praet was too unselfish when presented with space on the edge of the area and fed Tete who was denied by Aynsley Pears. The rebound, though, fell kindly for Praet who should have done better than fire straight at Pears.
The Rovers goalkeeper then stood up to Jamie Vardy’s angled effort but, not to be outdone, the visitors created some dangerous openings.
They had been encouraged by Leicester’s wastefulness and the Foxes’ failings at the back only motivated them further.
First, Luke Thomas’ slip allowed Dolan a chance before Daniel Iversen had to be alert to keep out Szmodics after the Foxes lost the ball, although the forward’s finish was poor.
Blackburn had grown into the game as the Foxes’ threat waned and the haphazard nature of the hosts’ defending was a serious cause for concern.
Even a routine long ball caused problems as a missed header from Wout Faes and a miscued one from Amartey allowed Szmodics to tee up an unmarked Dolan.
The striker was just eight yards out with Iversen to beat but the goalkeeper smothered his low strike.
Yet it was only a brief reprieve when another error was finally punished by Dolan after 33 minutes.
Amartey’s attempt to play out was reckless and ill-advised as his pass was cut out by the forward, who arrowed towards goal and beat Iversen from the edge of the box.
If Leicester had been careless before the break their defending became calamitous immediately after and they fell further behind seven minutes into the second half.
Only Ryan Hedges’ wasteful finish had stopped Rovers doubling their lead when Boubakary Soumare was robbed on the edge of his own box but, like before, Leicester failed to heed the warning.
Minutes later, Sam Gallagher’s strong tackle on Thomas saw the striker gallop from the halfway line to find Szmodics on the edge of the box.
There was still plenty for him to do but Szmodics bullied his way past Amartey and Pereira and his soft shot rolled gently into the corner.
Another Iversen save kept the same attacking midfielder from making it 3-0 soon after with Leicester crumbling.
Rovers were more confident, more determined, but out of the blue the Foxes pulled a goal back with 23 minutes left.
Harvey Barnes found space for the first time and pulled back for Iheanacho to net his now customary FA Cup goal from close range.
Pears also denied the striker with time ticking away and Amartey’s header hit the post in stoppage time.
