- Bernardo Silva praised Man City’s ‘unbelievable’ youngster Nico O’Reilly
- O’Reilly, on as a substitute, set up two goals as Man City beat Bournemouth
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Bernardo Silva described Nico O’Reilly as ‘unbelievable’ following the youngster’s major impact against Bournemouth in the FA Cup.
City were trailing 1-0 following a lacklustre first half but O’Reilly then entered the fray and had a transformative effect on the game as his side secured their place in the semi-finals with a 2-1 victory.
O’Reilly, who featured at left-back, provided assists for Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush.
In the previous round against Plymouth O’Reilly scored a brace, while he was also on the scoresheet against Salford earlier in the competition.
After the game, manager Pep Guardiola stated that O’Reilly, 20, will start in the semi-final clash against Nottingham Forest at Wembley.
Silva told ITV Sport: ‘He was unbelievable. Against Plymouth it showed the impact that he can have on the game and the energy he brought into the game changed completely the game for us so well deserved I’m happy for you and that’s what we needed.’
Pep Guardiola insisted that Nico O’Reilly will start in the semi-final following his superb impact
Bernardo Silva (above) was hugely impressed with O’Reilly’s performance as a substitute
The talented youngster provided two assists as he helped City to turn the game around
Commenting on his own performance, O’Reilly said: ‘I’m just trying my hardest every game. I’m trying to help the team out as much as I can and I’m glad I’ve been able to do that so far.’
The prospect also gave an insight into the instructions that Guardiola gave him before he entered the pitch.
He said: ‘He was just saying run in behind, try and get high, come inside when the winger goes outside.’
Guardiola was delighted with the impact that O’Reilly made and said that he will start in the semi-final.
He said: ‘Nico scored two goals against Plymouth and today the impact was surprising. He’s going to play the semi-final for sure!’.
It has been a challenging season for City, who have looked vulnerable at times and are in fifth place in the Premier League.
However, the emergence of O’Reilly has certainly been a positive and it will be interesting to see if he can continue to excel in the FA Cup as the competition reaches its latter stages.
