LONDON: Southampton cast aside their Premier League struggles to reach the FA Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 win at Bournemouth, while quadruple chasers Manchester City prepared to face Everton on Saturday.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have slumped into the Premier League relegation battle after losing 10 of their last 12 top-flight matches.
But Southampton have been immune to those woes in the FA Cup this term and they booked a place in the Wembley semi-finals thanks to Nathan Redmond’s double after Moussa Djenepo’s opener.
Southampton, FA Cup winners in 1976, are back in the semi-finals for the first time since 2018, with their most recent final appearance coming in a 2003 defeat against Arsenal.
Playing in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1957, second-tier Bournemouth were out-classed by a Southampton team sorely in need of a morale-boosting victory.
While Premier League survival is the priority, Hasenhuttl insists the FA Cup was a “big target” and he made just two changes against a Bournemouth team who sat seventh in the Championship.
It proved a wise move as Southampton carved open the Bournemouth defence to take the lead in the 37th minute.
Redmond’s enterprising run took him past two defenders to the edge of the area and he slipped a deft pass to Djenepo, who guided a composed finish into the far corner from eight yards.
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