Season 20/21: The Swansea City v Manchester City FA Cup 5th Round Match Thread

[PSumbler]

Swansea / Manchester City Classic
Premier League – 2012



Swansea City 1 Manchester City 0
11 March 2012

Super Swans throw the Championship race wide open



Report – BBC Sport

Manchester City lost their Premier League lead for the first time in five months as their title hopes were dented by superb Swansea City.
Unmarked substitute Luke Moore headed the hosts' winner inside the final seven minutes as he guided in Wayne Routledge's pin-point right-wing cross.

Manchester City, who drop a point behind rivals Manchester United following the Red Devils' win over West Bromwich Albion, did have a late Micah Richards goal ruled out for offside in a dramatic final few minutes.

Swansea could have won more comfortably, visiting keeper Joe Hart saving Scott Sinclair's early penalty.

View attachment 2012 Home 2.jpg

But the Welsh side will settle for a single-goal victory against the league leaders that will rank alongside their January triumph over Arsenal as one of the most famous results in their 100-year history.

More importantly, it edges Swansea closer to Premier League survival, having reached a tally of 36 points that would have seen them retain their top-flight status in 10 of the last 13 seasons.

But, as much as Swansea celebrate, Roberto Mancini's men will feel frustration at having squandered their top-of-the-table berth with a below-par performance.

View attachment 2012 Home 3.jpg

The visitors were dominated for the majority of the first half and Routledge had already blasted a close-range shot over Hart's crossbar when the Swansea winger won a penalty after being brought down in the penalty area inside five minutes.

Hart was penalised but immediately made amends, the England keeper diving to his right to save Sinclair's weak spot-kick.

It was the first time Sinclair had missed a penalty in 14 attempts but the England Under-21 winger did not look confident as he slid the ball too close to Hart.

Routledge, replacing the suspended Nathan Dyer, was again proving to be the main tormentor.

He tested Hart's reactions when he flicked Sinclair's corner goalwards from close range, only for the England keeper to gather with consummate ease.

Swansea top scorer Danny Graham then turned to shoot Gylfi Sigurdsson's incisive pass wide as the hosts dominated territory and possession against a Manchester City side feeling the effects of their midweek Europa League defeat in Porto.

Mancini said before the game he wanted his side to break Chelsea's title-winning points record of 95 set in 2005. But they were restricted to half chances against a side that have also taken points off Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur at the Liberty Stadium this season.

Yaya Toure fumbled as he enjoyed a rare sight of Swansea's goal, David Silva fired harmlessly wide and Mario Balotelli summed up the visitors' frustrations as the enigmatic Italian tried his luck from virtually the halfway line with a wayward effort.

Mancini even went to the lengths of making a first-half tactical substitution, as £35m striker Sergio Aguero was introduced in place of Gareth Barry in an effort to spark the Manchester side into life.

But it was to no avail as Swansea continued to create the better chances and Graham's low driven ball across the six-yard box should have been tapped in by Joe Allen but the Swans midfielder failed to connect and it was cleared by Kolo Toure, captain for the day in Vincent Kompany's absence.

The visitors had a penalty appeal waved away by referee Lee Mason after Balotelli went down under a challenge by Allen but he did not appear to be touched by the Wales midfielder and, in any case, fell outside the box.

But, with virtually his first touch of the game after replacing Graham, Moore claimed victory when he headed in only his second league goal of the season at the far post.

View attachment 2012 Home 4.jpg

Mancini's men responded but, after having a snapshot well saved by Swans keeper Michel Vorm, Richards had an effort disallowed by assistant referee Sian Massey for offside.

And Swansea kept out the late bombardment to claim not only a famous scalp, but almost certainly their Premier League status too - with 10 games still remaining.

Mancini Reaction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3zWGaoj2jo

Rodgers Reaction:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfYz-5BNi88

Match Highlights:
https://www.premierleague.com/video/single/1640922?PLAYLIST=1581408

View attachment 2012 Home 1.jpg

 

[swansnews]

Phil Foden: Swansea head coach Steve Cooper discusses how Manchester City star turned potential into action

Source: Sky Sports

Swansea boss Steve Cooper discusses Phil Foden's evolution since their days together with England's U17s ahead of FA Cup tie at Man City; "It's always a good thing having ability and potential, but it's another thing turning it into action, and he's doing that at the moment," said Cooper

Phil Foden, the boy who always has a ball at his feet.

That's how Steve Cooper knows him. Once coach to the Manchester City midfielder with England's U17s, now on opposite sides as the Swansea boss prepares his team to face the Premier League leaders in the FA Cup on Wednesday.

Foden was the star of Cooper's England team that lifted the U17 World Cup in 2017, scoring goals reminiscent of his strike in Sunday's 4-1 statement win over champions Liverpool at Anfield.

'The Stockport Iniesta' has come a long way since his time under Cooper and is wholeheartedly living up to the hype. But, according to the Swansea boss, Foden's success was never in doubt - at least, not for those that know him.

"It's brilliant to see him doing so well - he has been for a while now," said Cooper. "He's a fantastic talent, brilliant lad, and it's lovely to see him showcasing it at the highest level.

"For the guys that have worked with him, it's not a surprise to see him doing so well because he is a super talent. At the moment, Phil is getting a particular amount of attention and rightly so.

"Whether he is in his hotel room, in the corridor or out on the training pitch you very rarely see him without a ball, or messing about with something he can play football with."

Cooper has been amazed by Foden's evolution from promising young talent to leading man. He also knows the 20-year-old is in the best place possible to continue his footballing education, under the watchful eye of Pep Guardiola.

"It's always a good thing having ability and potential, but it's another thing turning it into action, and he's doing that at the moment," Cooper continued.

"When you see talents like this at a young age, you work with them, and you hope that they can progress and get opportunities and then take those opportunities and flourish.

"It seems to me that from the outset that he's doing that, he's obviously played in big games and that's amazing to see.

"He's under brilliant stewardship with Pep. He will be getting the best work possible."

Guardiola's slow and measured integration of Foden into the first team was criticised last season with calls for him to get improved opportunities at City or be allowed to leave on loan in January.

The City boss was adamant Foden would not leave on loan and has proved his doubters wrong. But it raises the question: did Cooper ever try and use his connections to get Foden to Swansea?

"If there was a chance I would have dived in with two feet, don't worry about that," he said. "I don't think Phil was ever too far away from the City team.

"I think if we ever did ask the question we would have got a swift reply."

Cooper will certainly be hoping Foden doesn't have the ball at his feet too much in Wednesday's FA Cup fifth-round tie at the Etihad. Whether Swansea can keep him away from it is another question.

 

[swansnews]

Some images from playing Manchester City in the old first division 1981/2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzbfuzk8w84

View attachment Bob Latchford Man City.jpg

View attachment Maine Road 1982.jpg

 

[Gaius Baltar]

at least 10 minutes of the pre-match cooper interview was devoted to questions about Phil Foden ... WTF is all that about?

i haven't watched but i bet guardiola didn't bang on about foden for ten minute in his last 5 interviews combined

 

[Badlands]

Last time we played we were done by a shocking set of officials.
Our strength was pace which we no longe have, can’t see a repeat performance tbh.

 

[CurtessECarr]

Quick look at the Man City board. Fans very complimentary about us and how this ain't gonna be easy. Even a few admitting how fortunate they were last time. Not the usual arrogance of some of the big clubs we will only have to turn up. Quite fearful of our long range shooting also. Considering they are miles better than anyone at the momemt I was pleasantly surprised at the comments.

 

[PSumbler]

Quick look at the Man City board. Fans very complimentary about us and how this ain't gonna be easy. Even a few admitting how fortunate they were last time. Not the usual arrogance of some of the big clubs we will only have to turn up. Quite fearful of our long range shooting also. Considering they are miles better than anyone at the momemt I was pleasantly surprised at the comments.

I was reading some of that last night it is a very refreshing change.

Brentford fans could take note

 

[swansnews]

FA Cup 5th Round Classic
Brentford – 2019

View attachment Brentford Programme.jpg

Swansea City 4 Brentford 1
17 February 2019

Match Report – BBC Sport

Swansea City reached the FA Cup quarter-finals for only the fifth time in their history after they fought back to beat 10-man Brentford.
Graham Potter's side looked to be heading out after Ollie Watkins had given the dominant visitors a deserved lead at the break.
But not for the first time this season, Swansea produced a rousing second-half revival to secure victory.

Goalkeeper Luke Daniels' unfortunate own goal brought the Swans level before a memorable Daniel James solo effort put them ahead.
After Brentford's Ezri Konsa saw red for a professional foul, Swansea extended their lead with a neat Bersant Celina finish.
George Byers' low drive from the edge of the area completed the victory in stoppage-time.

This was a meeting of two clubs who have not had a great deal of joy in the FA Cup down the years.



Swansea reached the quarter-finals last season for the first time in 54 years - and were well beaten by Tottenham - while Brentford have made the last eight on just four occasions.

The visitors' front three of Neal Maupay, Said Benrahma and Watkins caused Swansea plenty of problems, with right wing-back Sergi Canos also providing a threat.

Brentford played attractive football in the first period and went in front with Maupay feeding Watkins, who finished a counter-attack emphatically with a rising shot.

Swansea were level just four minutes after the restart when Celina's free-kick hit the post and then bounced into the net off Daniels' back.
Only four minutes later, they were in front as James - who came close to joining Leeds last month - picked off a loose pass and then embarked on a driving run which took him from the edge of Swansea's area to the Brentford box, before lifting a shot into the net.

James's pace continued to cause havoc, and Brentford centre-back Konsa was shown a straight red card for bringing the 21-year-old down as he threatened to run through on goal again.

Celina took advantage of some weak defending to guide home Swansea's third goal in the space of just 17 minutes and they thought they had a fourth just moments later when Connor Roberts tapped in, but the officials eventually took the contentious decision to rule the effort out for offside.

Swansea did make it four on 89 minutes, when yet another James surge caused problems and Byers finished precisely from 20 yards.

Swansea manager Graham Potter:

I thought Brentford were the better team in the first half. We had to respond at half-time because the environment was not so positive.
We needed to change the dynamic. We had to respect that we were playing against a good team. We were probably happy to be 1-0 down at half-time and still alive in the game.

Daniel James' performance was fantastic. The collective quality in the second half was very good, but his performance was one to be very, very proud of.

It's a fantastic cup competition. [Reaching the quarter-finals] doesn't happen too often in Swansea's history, so we're looking forward to the draw.

View attachment Brentford 2.jpg

Brentford manager Thomas Frank:

We were outplaying them in the first half. We were by far the better side.

They only created four, five chances - and we lost 4-1. I can't blame the boys too much. I think we made some individual mistakes that were punished unbelievably for the goals.

We tried to regroup at 2-1. Maybe we could have stayed in the game and turned it around, but Swansea were too strong.

View attachment Brentford 3.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W-zkMPyEko

 

[sainthelens]

Possible loopholes to exploit, Garcia and Mendy at the back, Walker will bomb forward leaving a gap.
The "stiff" Doyle in midfield is nothing special and if they play Ferran likewise.
Regarding Mendy, if he plays LB there is definitely chance to get joy there.
Jesus up front is desperate for goals so close him out.....
Straw clutching perhaps, but food for thought.

 

[Official Site News]

SWANSEA CITY DONATE VIRTUAL MASCOT PACKAGES FOR MAN CITY TIE

Source: Swansea Official Site

Swansea City has again donated two of the club’s virtual mascot experiences to two worthy recipients for Wednesday’s FA Cup tie against Manchester City.

The club was overwhelmed by the bravery and selfless good deeds of two of our younger supporters, and we were delighted to surprise them and give them the recognition they deserve.

They will each receive personalised messages from members of the Swansea squad, along with a mascot pack full of goodies and a signed shirt. They will appear in the matchday programme and feature on the club’s official social media channels.

Here are their stories:

Ellie Lewis, aged 12 from Hendy

Ellie has embarked upon a massive fundraising drive to help raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis in Wales, a condition Ellie’s father suffers from.

Ellie has been raising awareness and inspiring others along the way, her younger sister Amily, six, has also been taking part in the challenge.

Ellie has raised £12,000 in the last two years, including £1,500 in the last month alone. She will walk 870 miles this year and has inspired others to join in along the way, either to help the cause or simply to help keep people healthy and exercising.

Ellie’s uncle, Adam, made the club aware of her amazing efforts and said: “She has been so inspiring to so many people in our community and further afield. She never wants praise. but we feel she deserves it.”

We could not agree more, Adam! Well done Ellie.

Nolan Schultz, 14 from Wisconsin, USA

Nolan is an inspiring young man who has overcome so much already in his young life. Nolan battles Tourette’s Syndrome and complex migraines that mimic strokes and seizures.

He also has slipped capital femoral disorder, which has resulted in surgery on both hips where screws were inserted into the femurs and ball of his hips.

Nolan has spent many months in a wheelchair and last week underwent a further surgery to insert two rods into his hips to stablise and stop his growth.

But none of the challenges he has faced, could prevent him from enjoying and expressing his love of the beautiful game.

His mother, Heidi, says: “Nolan has been involved in soccer since he was four. He plays as a striker and midfielder.

“Nolan loves running with his team-mates, so much so that his leg braces can’t slow him down. “Soccer brings so much laughter, love, and enjoyment into his life.”

Everyone at Swansea City wishes Nolan a speedy recovery from his recent surgery and know you will be cheering the team on from afar.

 

[swansnews]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmT1KqgzlVs

 

[swansnews]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CehwY90L7Lo

 

[Official Site News]

SWANSEA CITY V MANCHESTER CITY | TALKING TACTICS

Source: Swansea Official Site

Football stats experts WhoScored.com take a look at the form of Swansea City's vice-captain Andre Ayew, and assess his importance ahead of the FA Cup fifth-round clash with Manchester City.

A fine 2-0 win over Norwich on Friday night will have been a huge confidence boost for Swansea City as they seek promotion in a typically congested Championship season.

Goals from Andre Ayew and Conor Hourihane either side of half time capped a professional display for Steve Cooper's side, who are now just two points behind the Canaries at the top of the table with a game in hand.

However, Swansea's next point of focus is the welcome of Premier League powerhouse Manchester City in the FA Cup. The south Wales side have a fine home record to call upon for the midweek cup clash, with the Swans unbeaten in 12 at the Liberty Stadium.

A visit of City, though, will be their toughest test of the campaign.

Of course, City come into the FA Cup tie as favourites, but Swansea can use that to their advantage to spring an FA Cup upset.

This City juggernaut has been chugging along nicely since a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham back in November, and are unbeaten in their last 21 matches, winning the last 14 games.

But in going 1-0 down at Cheltenham in the fourth round, they showed that even sides of such quality and talent don't always have things their own way.

It wasn't until Pep Guardiola brought out the big guns at Cheltenham that City booked their spot in the fifth round of the FA Cup and Swansea will be looking to provide as stern a test as possible for the Citizens.

Swansea do have a number of players with Premier League experience, and Cooper will be looking to them to use that knowledge to help his side..

Andre Ayew may have scored just the once in his career against City, but that came in the only game in which the Ghanaian has faced the Premier League side on home turf.

Ayew was also on hand to bag his ninth league goal of the season in the win over Norwich, with five of his nine goals coming at the Liberty Stadium in 2020/21.

The 31-year-old boasts a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of 'finishing' and that will be crucial for the Swans in their bid to better City this week.

However, it's not just Ayew's goalscoring ability that will be vital against Guardiola's side. City are expected to dominate possession at the Liberty Stadium, which means the experienced forward must display a WhoScored.com strength of 'holding on to the ball' in order to limit the Premier League side's goalscoring chances.

Ayew's ability to hold off defenders to ease pressure on the goal could be of the utmost importance to deny City from maximising their attacking power.

Guardiola has sought to rotate in the FA Cup, so it's likely that Aymeric Laporte will be the man tasked with keeping the Swansea offensive at bay.

The Frenchman may have lost his spot in the first team, with Ruben Dias and John Stones now Guardiola's preferred centre-back duo, but Laporte proved at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium in the last round that he is a more than able deputy and he has long been admired as one of the top-flight's leading centre-backs.

Indeed, Laporte earned a WhoScored.com rating of 7.28 in the win over Cheltenham to further reinforce his quality at the back and, if he does start in defence in Swansea, then Ayew has his work cut out to get the better of the City defender.

Swansea, though, have conceded fewer home goals (6) than any other Championship side this season and if they can maintain that home resilience, with Ayew key, then they have the means to offer City a real test in their search of an upset.

 

[swansnews]

SWANSEA V CITY: GUARDIOLA SHARES LATEST ON AGUERO

Source: Manchester City Official Site

Manchester City will be without Sergio Aguero for Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth round trip to Swansea City as the striker continues his return to full match fitness.

The Argentine has missed City’s previous nine games after having initially been forced to self-isolate after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for Coronavirus, before then testing positive himself.

However, our all-time record scorer was able to take some part in Monday's training session as he continues his carefully managed recovery and training programme with the 30-year-old set to progressively join first team sessions.

But speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of our trip to tackle the Championship side, Guardiola said that Aguero was not ready to return to the matchday squad.

“Yesterday he trained with the group for 10 - 15 minutes and later he did some part alone. Day by day he is feeling better,” revealed the City manager.

But quizzed on when Kun would be able to return competitive action, the boss added: “Not yet.”

Asked if there were any other injury concerns and whether he was considering making changes for the trip to South Wales, Guardiola added: “No. We have training this afternoon, so we have to wait.

“We will travel with the team of fit players. We need some players from second team, it will happen.”

Tomorrow’s match sees City return to the Liberty Stadium where we played a thrilling FA Cup quarter-final in 2019, fighting back from 2-0 down to seal a dramatic 3-2 success thanks to an 86th minute Aguero winner.

The Swans are flying high in the Championship and currently lie in third place in the table and the boss said he was no doubts that they would present another tough test.

“Swansea have a tradition of good managers. Michael Laudrup was there, Roberto Martinez, Graham Potter and now Steve Cooper.

“It was a difficult game (in 2019). I don’t expect a different game than when we suffered a lot to go through.

“I know Swansea’s consistency defensively. They are solid, don’t concede chances or goals. They have the quality to play upfront.

“It will be a real difficult test and we will have to do a good performance. I don’t expect any different tomorrow.”

 

[sainthelens]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmT1KqgzlVs

Interesting quote right at the end, gonna be bringing in some players from the 2nd team .
We get this right, we'll win this.