Key management lessons in FA Cup q-finals

Thanks to their charismatic managers, this past weekend saw three underdogs progress to the FA Cup semi-finals, while embattled Manchester City came from behind to keep alive their hopes of winning a major trophy for an eighth straight season. Here are four key talking points.

Nuno on course for success at Forest

Surely a strong contender for the English Premier League manager of the season, Nuno Espirito Santo is providing the blueprint of how a budget team like Nottingham Forest can outwit the bigger clubs through lethal counter-attacks without dominating possession.

And when the goals don’t come – they failed to score for just the sixth time in 34 games this season – a little bit of luck doesn’t hurt, as they hurtled through to the FA Cup semi-finals with a

shoot-out win over Brighton,

the third straight time they have won on penalties in the competition.

While the Portuguese has yet to win a major trophy in Europe, he has made a name for himself at other underdog sides, guiding Rio Ave to Portuguese cup finals, taking Valencia to the Champions League and then helping Wolverhampton Wanderers win promotion to the top flight and qualify for the Europa League.

For a side whose market value was ranked 13th out of 20 Premier League teams at the start of the season, two-time European champions Forest, third in the standings, can smell a return to the glory days.

Champions League football is within reach, as well as a first major trophy since their 1990 League Cup win, and a first FA Cup triumph since 1959, even if their next opponents are Manchester City, whom they beat on March 8 with just 30 per cent possession.

Glasner breaking the glass ceiling at Palace

When Bayern Munich came knocking and seeking a transfer in May 2024, Crystal Palace were quick to rebuff them with a €100 million (S$145.2 million) price tag, five times what the German giants reportedly offered.

The thing is, this was not for any player but for manager Oliver Glasner, a 2022 Europa League winner with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Palace’s resistance has proven to be spot on as the Austrian has set multiple records since his arrival three months earlier by steering them to safety with their joint-highest EPL tally (49 points), besides a first top-flight double over Manchester United and a joint-biggest league win (5-0 over Aston Villa).

With a well-drilled 3-4-2-1 system, he has brought the best out of players such as French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, who went from scoring just 16 goals in 93 games for Palace under Patrick Vieira and Roy Hodgson to grabbing 28 goals in 46 games under Glasner.

English winger Eberechi Eze has also been in devastating form, with goals for club and country, while registering nine assists, his most in a Palace shirt, this season.

While Palace are on a four-game home winning streak, their success has been based on their miserly defence on the road, where they have conceded just 11 times in 13 league games.

They have won their last six games and kept clean sheets in their last seven matches away from Selhurst Park in all competitions, including the

3-0 FA Cup win at Fulham.

With the semi-finals and final held at Wembley, they will fancy their chances of a historic cup success.

Can Emery bring cup success from Sevilla to Villa?

Known for winning four Europa League titles with Spanish underdogs Villarreal and Sevilla, as well as two French Cup and two French League Cups with Paris Saint-Germain, Unai Emery proved his cup pedigree again by leading Aston Villa to a

3-0 win over Preston.

Despite no shot from open play with 72 per cent possession in the first half, Villa ploughed on and were rewarded with a three-goal blitz – including on-loan Marcus Rashford’s first brace for Villa – in 13 minutes in the second half.

After a league run of just one win in seven games as they dropped 14 points to slip to ninth, the Villans have found a purple patch with five straight wins in which they conceded just one goal.

From battling relegation when he arrived in October 2022, to qualifying for the Europa Conference League and then the Champions League, Emery has worked wonders with his tactical nous, set-piece prowess, and man-management skills.

A Champions League quarter-final clash against Paris Saint-Germain looms, but it is the FA Cup where they could end a 29-year wait for a major trophy since the 1996 League Cup and lifting their first FA Cup trophy since 1957.

Pep talks still work for City

City manager Pep Guardiola has spoilt their fans after delivering six EPL titles, one Champions League, two FA Cup and four League Cup titles during his eight-season tenure since 2016.

Although this campaign will be seen as mediocre in the face of his successes, the Spaniard served notice of his abilities as City

reached a remarkable seventh straight FA Cup semi-final

with a 2-1 comeback win over Bournemouth.

Erling Haaland represents Guardiola’s progress from the tiki-taka days in favour of a target man, and the Norwegian put aside his penalty woes to equalise four minutes into the second half, after good work from Nico O’Reilly, who has shone this season.

The infusion of new faces and new-found fighting spirit have provided optimism that City can salvage the season with a trophy and Champions League entry.

Guardiola said: “What we missed this season was heart, soul; the desire from how we had done it for many, many years. For a manager, the most important thing is to recover this passion.”

On the basis of this comeback win – this was the 21st time City have conceded first in all competitions this season – it looks like they might have reignited the fire.