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76 min: Welington can’t continue, out of every last drop of energy. He’s been run ragged since the get-go, against Reijnders, Foden and Savinho, but never found wanting. Matsuki comes on in his place.
75 min: Doku cuts in from the left and aims for the bottom right corner. His shot is deflected out to the left of goal for a corner. Before it can be taken, Welington goes down.
74 min: … so yes, Saints are clinging on a bit here.
73 min: Gonzalez barges his way into the Saints box from the right and lashes goalwards. Peretz parries well. Cherki has another go. The ball pings off the arm of Charles, but though City claim for a penalty, that arm was tucked away and that’s not going to happen. And in any case City should then score, the ball breaking to Reijnders, clear on the penalty spot … but the resulting shot sails wide of the bottom-right corner with Peretz beaten all ends up.
72 min: Another double substitution by Manchester City. Ait-Nouri and Marmoush are replaced by O’Reilly, who scored both goals here last month as City beat Arsenal in the League Cup final, and Haaland, who, well, y’know.
70 min: Savinho drives at Welington down the right channel. Welington just about stops him getting past, but at the expense of a corner. Savinho takes it himself, launching towards the back stick, but Wood rises highest to belt a header clear.
68 min: City have been much improved in this second half. Southampton clinging on a bit. But they’re holding on.
66 min: The BBC have shown quite a few shots of punters in the stands fast asleep. Both City and Saints fans. The match is great fun, non-stop action, so you have to conclude that the ABV% of the Wembley beer is at turps-level. Sláinte, everyone!
64 min: Savinho slips Nunes into the Saints box down the right. Nunes takes one touch too many, with team-mates lined up in the middle, and has to make to with a corner rather than an assist. Then from the set play, Savinho attempts a low curler towards the bottom right. Peretz gets down to parry with a strong arm, then Saints counter, Larin haring after a long ball down the middle! He looks to have the pace to beat Stones, but Trafford has read the danger and comes out of his box to blooter clear. Oh my.
63 min: Cherki jinks his way into the Saints box from the right and whistles another promising ball through the six-yard box. Marmoush, telescoping a leg, isn’t able to connect. City are getting closer and closer and closer.
62 min: Saints make their own double change, replacing Stewart and Bragg with Larin and the quarter-final hero Charles.
60 min: Savinho bursts down the right and wins a corner. The set piece is worked long to Doku on the other flank. Doku advances down the wing, then cuts back, before slipping Ait-Nouri in on the overlap. Ait-Nouri rolls across to Marmoush, who leans back and skies a shot over the bar. That would have been an outrageously good team goal. Shame for everyone, apart from Saints of course.
59 min: A bit of space for Reijnders, 25 yards out on the left. He takes a touch infield before whipping a violent curler towards the top right. The ball flies just wide of the post, which is just as well for Peretz, because the keeper wasn’t getting to that. Reijnders close to a fine goal.
58 min: City make the first swaps of the afternoon. Foden and Kovacic are replaced by Doku and Savinho.
57 min: Wood makes two big blocks in the space of a couple of seconds, from Nunes and Cherki. City are cranking up the pressure.
56 min: Stewart tries a curler towards the top right. He doesn’t get any oomph behind the shot, and it’s easy pickings for Trafford. Southampton haven’t shown any of their first-half sparkle in this second period yet.
55 min: Kovavic takes a cute touch to turn into space in the middle, then releases Marmoush down the left. Marmoush turns Harwood-Bellis inside out, and is brought down clumsily. The Saints defender should go into the book, but somehow escapes. Then the free kick is worked back to Foden, who opens his body to curl a shot into the top left, but gets it all wrong. High and wide. Goal kick.
53 min: City have looked sharper and quicker since the restart. Pep appears to have issued some beneficial advice during the break.
52 min: A couple of passes down the City left nearly open Southampton up. Foden and Aki take turns to dilly-dally over their cross, and the ball’s cleared easily on both occasions. Then Cherki bursts down the right and fizzes a delightful low ball through the six-yard box. Everyone in sky blue is on the back foot, and a glorious chance to tap City into the lead is spurned.
50 min: Marmoush gets on the end of a long pass down the inside-left channel and enters the Saints box. He shoots. Harwood-Bellis blocks, deflecting over the bar. Saints deal with the resulting corner easily enough.
48 min: City get back into their usual groove of stroking the ball around. Saints sit back and challenge them to break through.
46 min: Azaz nicks the ball off Ake and sends Fellows scampering clear down the inside right. Fellows enters the area, but doesn’t get his shot away quickly enough, allowing the recovering Ake to block and cushion the ball into the arms of Trafford. Big chance.
Southampton get the second half underway. No changes. Nunes is fine to continue, which is good to see. No serious harm done. “I’ll give Kari Tulinius (14 min) When the Saints,” begins Richard Hirst, “but the dirge-like Blue Moon? Never. Which opposition team has not been cowed when coming to Craven Cottage to be greeted by London Calling, bellowed by the massed ranks of, oh, at least 200 fans?”
THE HALF-TIME SHOW starring Jim McCalliog. “Jim McCalliog!” yelps Simon McMahon, having skimmed the pre-match bumf. “Come on, Scott, get the Wembley ‘67 highlights up, you know you want to.”
Well, if I must. McCalliog’s goal, which proved to be the winner, comes just after the six-minute mark of the video below. He was making his Scotland debut as a 21-year-old that day, though he’d already scored at Wembley, as part of the Sheffield Wednesday team that lost the FA Cup final from two goals up a year earlier. His opener, scored four minutes into that match, comes just after the three-minute mark of this.
(In the interests of balance and full disclosure, what happened to Scotland after McCalliog’s goal in 1967 is covered by the first two harrowing paragraphs of this. Oh Scotland!)
HALF TIME: Manchester City 0-0 Southampton
It’s been good fun. City have been slightly undercooked but won’t be fretting yet, though it’s Southampton who’ll be the happier. The Championship side have acquitted themselves very well against the hot favourites.
45 min +1: Cherki nearly jinks his way past Welington down the right, but the Saints full-back sticks to his shoulder before nicking the ball off him. That’s magnificent defending from the Brazilian.
45 min: There will be a minimum of two additional first-half minutes.
44 min: Nunes still doesn’t look comfortable, but he’s OK to see things through to the break at least. That’s a relief.
42 min: Khusanov prepares to come on, but there’s a hold up as Nunes gets back up onto his feet. That’s good to see: for a moment, thoughts turned to poor Hugo Ekitike against PSG the other week, who went down in similar fashion, with nobody near him. Thankfully this doesn’t look anywhere near as serious.
41 min: Nunes goes down with nobody around him. He’s in some distress. On come the physios.
40 min: City with the probing again. Saints holding their shape as ever. Kovacic loses patience and tries to force things with a wedge down the right. Too high, over everyone’s head, and out for a goal kick.
38 min: Now it’s Southampton’s turn to calm things down a bit with a little patient possession at the back.
36 min: … and suddenly City spring into life, Kovacic fizzing a pass down the inside left for Marmoush, who enters the area and whistles a low drive towards the bottom left. Peretz kicks clear for a corner. And from the resulting set play, which is worked from left to right, Cherki crosses long for Reijnders who attempts a bicycle kick and … let’s just award full marks for ambition. To be fair to Reijnders, as the Saints fans chortle, he has the good grace to have a laugh at himself upon getting back up.
34 min: On the touchline, Pep dictates some technical orders in the no-nonsense fashion. He’s not gone full fidgety yet, but he’s stirring, beginning to prowl.
