Pep Guardiola sent clear message as James McAtee shares new Man City post
James McAtee’s message after Manchester City’s victory over Bournemouth in the FA Cup will give Pep Guardiola food for thought.
City progressed to the semi-finals for a seventh season running with Sunday’s 2-1 win at the Vitality Stadium, coming back from 1-0 down at half-time with goals from Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush.
Haaland’s early second-half equaliser came at a cost, with the City striker picking up an ankle injury set to rule him out for much of the rest of the season, and in-form Nottingham Forest to face in the last four.
Guardiola’s side also face no guarantees when it comes to their bid for Champions League football next season, and without Haaland, City’s battle to beat eight other sides into the top five will be a tall order.
McAtee sends clear Nico O’Reilly message at Man City
McAtee, as has often been the case this season, was restricted to a late cameo in City’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth on Sunday, coming on for Ilkay Gundogan in the 83rd minute with victory in the bag.
While Haaland and Marmoush got the goals for the Blues, half-time substitute Nico O’Reilly was the real difference-maker for City, directly setting up both goals despite coming on to fill in as a left-back.
| Bournemouth | Statistic | Man City |
| 1 | Goals | 2 |
| 1.67 | xG | 3.43 |
| 2 / 5 | Shots on Target | 7 / 17 |
| 36% | Possession | 64% |
| 2 | Corners | 4 |
McAtee – who captained England’s Under-21s against Portugal over the international break – recognised the performance of his academy team-mate on Instagram (31 March), praising O’Reilly’s impact.
Tagging O’Reilly in his post, which was liked by England Under-21st team-mates Liam Delap and Adam Wharton, McAtee said: “Through to the semi-finals – Nico O’Reilly: player!”
Guardiola must give chances to McAtee and O’Reilly at Man City
O’Reilly’s display off the bench at Bournemouth completely overshasdowed the impact, or lack of, made by starting playmaker Phil Foden for Guardiola’s side, and must now be rewarded with a starting place.
McAtee is yet to produce a game-defining performance since returning from his two-season loan spell at Sheffield United, but seven-minute cameos off the bench are hardly giving him the chance to do so.
Football Insider revealed on 30 March that Guardiola is planning plenty of churn in City’s midfield this summer, potentially shipping out three veteran stars in order to sign AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders.
Even if Reijnders does arrive, the exits of Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic and Kevin de Bruyne would leave a sizeable hole to fill in City’s midfield, and the time is now for O’Reilly and McAtee to prove they’ve got the quality to step into the breach.