Arsenal beat City with extra time goal
Palace shock Liverpool
Arsenal will play London rivals Chelsea in the FA Cup final next month after beating Manchester City 2-1 in yesterday’s semifinal at Wembley.
The Gunners had to come from behind after Sergio Aguero scored his 30th goal of the season for City in the 62nd minute, racing away on to a pass from Yaya Toure.
Spanish international Nacho Monreal equalised nine minutes later, from a cross by Arsenal’s other wing back Alex Oxladechamberlain.
In the 11th minute of extra time, just after Aguero was taken off, Alexis Sanchez scored the winner.
The result gave manager Arsene Wenger, an FA Cup winner six times, a welcome boost in a season that many supporters would like to be his last at the club.
Arsenal seem likely to miss out on a top-four finish in the Premier League for the first time in 21 seasons under Wenger, but winning a third FA Cup in four years could persuade him to defy his critics and sign a new contract.
Pep Guardiola’s record of having won at least one trophy in every one of his seasons as a manager is almost certain to be ended. City trail league leaders Chelsea by 11 points with six games to play.
Shortly before halftime, City were unluckily denied a goal when Crystal Palace have boosted their survival chances by knocking off another top team as Manchester United’s push for a top-four finish continued.
Christian Benteke’s brace gave Palace a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Liverpool that lifted them seven points clear of the Premier League’s relegation places.
‘‘Travelling up yesterday, we saw the other teams won and that put pressure on us,’’ Palace’s Andros Townsend said. ‘‘But we have made a habit of upsetting the big teams and have done it again.’’
United, meanwhile, beat Burnley 2-0 to move within one point of fourth-placed Manchester City in
an assistant referee ruled incorrectly it appeared - that Leroy Sane’s cross had drifted out of play before Aguero and then Raheem Sterling both put the ball past Petr Cech.
In a much livelier second half Toure robbed Aaron Ramsey and sent Aguero away from the halfway line to dink the ball past Cech for a 12th goal in as many games.
The equaliser arrived from a the final Champions League qualifying spot.
‘‘Individual performances, top. Collective performance, top,’’ United manager Jose Mourinho said. ‘‘Total control of the game. Very good.’’
Palace’s win was their sixth in eight games and followed recent victories over league leader Chelsea and Arsenal.
Benteke, sold to Palace by Liverpool last summer, came back to haunt his former team with a goal in each half after Philippe Coutinho put the hosts in front. Palace have won their last three visits to Anfield, becoming the first team to achieve that feat since Chelsea in 2005.
less regular scorer. It was Monreal’s first goal for two years.
Toure’s volley and Fernandinho’s header both hit the frame of the goal in the space of four minutes but early in extra time a weary Aguero went off and within two minutes Sanchez scored from close range after Danny Welbeck missed his kick.
Chelsea beat Tottenham 4-2 in Sunday’s semifinal.