Manchester City narrowly avoided one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history as they scored twice in the final ten minutes to beat Southampton 2-1 and secure a record-breaking fourth consecutive FA Cup final qualification at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Finn Azaz scored a stunning goal to give the Saints a lead, but Jeremy Doku’s deflected goal and Nico Gonzalez’s late winner handed City the game.
For nearly the whole match, Southampton were able to run the spirit of their 1976 trophy-winning team as they kept on defending with discipline and character.
Leo Scienza’s strike was ruled out for being offside as they kept on fighting with all they had against the best English club of the last ten years.
But it was not until the 79th minute that Southampton dreamed of a regulation-time win as Finn Azaz produced a moment of pure magic. Azaz’s spectacular 20-yard curling strike found the back of the net at the far corner and created one of the greatest moments of this season’s FA Cup.
Finn Azaz with a wonder goal right in front of the @southamptonFC fans!
📺 @BBCMOTD, @footballontnt and @SportsonMax pic.twitter.com/Ydug3qmwn0
The City fightback
City did what City had to do to keep their hope for a domestic treble alive. They responded with two goals as Doku and Gonzalez struck late for them.
First, it was substitute Jeremy Doku who found space on the edge of the area and sent a right-footed strike that took a significant deflection off James Bree, wrong-footing goalkeeper Daniel Peretz to level the score at 1-1.
And that changed the momentum for Pep Guardiola’s men. It was just about time for them to strike again after tasting the blood.
Nico Gonzalez took matters into his own hands, picking up the ball 25 yards from goal and unleashing a thumping winner that flew into the back of the net.
With this victory, Manchester City have now extended their winning record against lower-league opposition in the FA Cup to 22 matches.
After losing to Crystal Palace in last year’s FA Cup final, City will be desperate to go one step further when they return to Wembley to face either Chelsea or Leeds United on 16th May, 2026.
Read also: 10 Most FA Cup Winners List: FA Cup in detail
Teams
CITY XI: Trafford, Nunes, Stones (C), Ake, Ait-Nouri (O’Reilly 71’), Nico, Kovacic (Doku 58’), Reijnders (Silva 85’), Cherki, Foden (Savinho 58’), Marmoush (Haaland 71’)
Subs: Donnarumma, Guéhi, Khusanov, Lewis
SOUTHAMPTON XI: Peretz, Bree, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Welington (Matsuki 76’), Jander, Bragg (Charles 61’), Fellows, Azaz, Scienza, Stewart
Subs: Long, Quarshie, Jelert, Robinson, Edozie, Archer, Larin