Tevez eases City into semis, Wigan stun Everton
Carlos Tevez led Manchester City into the FA Cup semi-finals with a hat-trick in a leisurely 5-0 win at home to second-tier Barnsley. The diminutive Argentinian also created the other two goals for Aleksandar Kolorav and David Silva.
Barnsley, who last reached the last four in 2009, came to Manchester intending to defend en masse, but their resistance was broken inside 11 minutes. Yaya Toure found Silva with a delightful flicked pass over the top, and when Barnsley goalkeeper Luke Steele pushed the Spaniard's volley ont o the post, Tevez was on hand to tuck the ball home.
Tevez created his side's second goal in the 27th minute, tearing into the Barnsley box and rolling a deliciously weighted pass square for Kolarov, who found the bottom-right corner.
Tevez made it 3-0 four minutes later, gathering Silva's cut-back and spinning, before beating Steele with a low shot from close range.
The hat-trick goal arrived five minutes into the second half and saw Tevez guide a low shot into the bottom-right corner after a gambolling run and cross from Samir Nasri.
Silva hit the hosts' fifth in the 65th minute, following in to score after Steele had saved his initial effort, with Tevez again supplying the assist.
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Earlier, Wigan Athletic shocked Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park to book a place in the semi-finals for the first time in the club's history. Roberto Martinez's side are currently threatened with relegation from the Premier League, while Everton are gunning for a top-four finish, but the Latics upset the form-book with a performance as superb as it was unexpected.
"For us to go to Wembley is a unique, historic moment," said Wigan manager Martinez.
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan broke his leg while playing for Blackburn Rovers in the 1960 FA Cup final, and Martinez said: "You could sense that in the dressing room - everyone wanted to see the chairman at Wembley."
Wigan's three goals arrived within a devastating four-minute spell during the first half. Shaun Maloney had already hit the post for Wigan by the time Maynor Figueroa broke the deadlock in the 30th minute, climbing to head in Jordi Gomez's right-wing corner at the back post.
Wigan's second followed within a minute and the scorer was childhood Everton fan Callum McManaman, who raced onto a misplaced pass from Phil Neville before beating goalkeeper Jan Mucha. The onslaught continued and in the 33rd minute Gomez made it 3-0, sweeping home Arouna Kone's square pass from outside the 18-yard box.
Wayne Rooney ended a tortuous week by scoring, but David de Gea proved to be Manchester United's hero for saving their FA Cup skins after Sir Alex Ferguson's team threw away a two-goal lead in their quarter-final with Chelsea.
Second-half goals from Eden Hazard and Ramires had pulled the visitors level after Javier Hernandez and Rooney struck early. It seemed certain Juan Mata would complete a memorable comeback when he stepped inside Jonny Evans in the final minute. But De Gea, so often the target of criticism, stuck out a leg to keep Mata out and United in the tournament.
The replay will not suit Ferguson, still less so Rafael Benitez given it could potentially force Chelsea into four games in a week or trigger the postponement of a Premier League fixture. However, both have reason to be thankful, United because their collapse from a position of such immense promise could so easily have been total, Chelsea as at half-time it seemed Benitez was being given another hefty shove towards the Stamford Bridge exit door.
It had all been about Rooney before kick-off, given the intense speculation that followed his omission from the United side that faced Real Madrid on Tuesday. Yet from the moment he was captured bouncing off the United team bus with a wide smile of greeting for the security staff in attendance, it seemed certain this would be a day of redemption.
Rooney's name was chanted by the United faithful, not in criticism of Ferguson, but in confirmation of the striker being one of them, part of a United family so carefully pieced together by their manager, who until Nani's dismissal in midweek truly believed another Treble was on.
Hernandez, someone with just as great a claim on a starting berth and whom did not appear for a single minute against a team held in so much affection in his native Mexico, had already struck in quite spectacular fashion before Rooney found the net.
Lining up a free-kick wide on the United right, level with the penalty area, Rooney aimed for the far corner. David Luiz and Jonny Evans both jumped but missed it and by the time Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech could react it was too late. The ball flew into the corner and Rooney had his goal. He did not really mean it but he took the acclaim anyway, raising his arms and turning slightly to acknowledge those in rapturous celebration.
Rooney nearly got a second in first-half stoppage time, as he deliberately sent another free-kick from a similar position on the other side of the pitch fizzing on to the roof of the net. United's only other opportunity of that opening period also involved Rooney, but it was far more notable for a ridiculous attempted clearance from Luiz after Cech had saved Rooney's shot, which forced his goalkeeper into another reaction save.
Amid all this, Chelsea had done quite well. Frank Lampard came close on a couple of occasions, Mata teased the United defence and rolled an inspired back heel into the path of Victor Moses, only for the former Wigan Athletic man to hit his shot well wide of the target.
Benitez introduced Hazard, who came on for Frank Lampard as part of a double-swap, and the Belgian international injected fresh hope into the Blues by curling a superb effort into the far corner beyond De Gea. The impetus it gave Chelsea was marked, and when Rooney lost possession deep in the visitors' half, United were caught out with a classic counter-attack that ended with Ramires expertly drilling home.
It was the second time this season the Brazilian had completed a Chelsea comeback from two goals down against United. On the first occasion, at Stamford Bridge in October, Chelsea then had two men sent off and were beaten by Hernandez. This time they managed to keep everyone on the pitch and they would have been the ones to claim victory had it not been for De Gea.
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Blackburn Rovers earned an FA Cup quarter-final replay against Millwall after riding their luck in a 0-0 draw at the Den earlier today.
Michael Appleton's team were second best for long periods of the last eight clash between two out-of-form Championship clubs, but they enjoyed their share of good fortune to set up a replay at Ewood Park on Wednesday.
Andy Keogh's first half header struck a post before Lions striker Rob Hulse missed an absolute sitter from close-range in the second half.
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