<p><a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/football/article/were-expecting-a-difficult-game-man-city-boss-wary-of-plymouth-23492238" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener"><strong>Manchester City</strong></a> manager Pep Guardiola might have already made his first selection call for next month&rsquo;s FA Cup semifinal against Nottingham Forest.</p>
<p>After his game-changing impact as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 win at Bournemouth in the quarter-finals on Sunday, Nico O&rsquo;Reilly &mdash; a 20-year-old who rarely plays in the first team &mdash; could have sewn up his starting place for the match at Wembley Stadium next month.</p>
<h2>Two assists in two goals</h2>
<p>O&rsquo;Reilly, a central midfielder, was brought on at half-time and played out of position at left back yet set up both of City&rsquo;s goals in its come-from-behind win at Vitality Stadium. That came after scoring two goals in the last 16 as City rallied to beat second-tier Plymouth 3-1. Two goals, two assists &mdash; that&rsquo;s why he&rsquo;s going to play against Nottingham,&rdquo; Guardiola, who was seen talking to O&rsquo;Reilly on the field after the final whistle, said with a smile.</p>
<p><strong>Also Read:&nbsp;</strong><strong><a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/football/article/erling-haaland-hurts-ankle-23510536" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Erling Haaland hurts ankle</a></strong></p>
<p>While it remains to be seen if Guardiola sticks to his word, he also reserved special praise for his old guard.</p>
<h2>Seniors shine too</h2>
<p>Midfielders Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan &mdash; players in their 30s who potentially might be on their way out at City &mdash; guided City to victory with assured second-half displays.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It was the senior players, the legendary players that give the most incredible things in the club who made a step up again,&rdquo; Guardiola said.</p>
<p>&ldquo;I need these types of players against a team I thought we need a lot of ball [against].&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>City will play for the seventh straight season in the semifinals, which take place across the weekend of April 26-27.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em>This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever</em></span></p><p>
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Man City boss Guardiola happy to pick young midfielder Nico for next week’s semi-final after his stellar show in 2-1 come-from-behind quarter-final win over

O’Reilly earns his stripes!

Erling Haaland hurts ankle

Man City boss Guardiola happy to pick young midfielder Nico for next week’s semi-final after his stellar show in 2-1 come-from-behind quarter-final win over Bournemouth

O’Reilly earns his stripes!

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Home / Sports / Football / Article / O’Reilly earns his stripes!

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