Live Commentary: Manchester City 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion - as it happened

Manchester City booked their place in the final of the 2019 FA Cup this evening courtesy of a narrow 1-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley.

City took the lead after less than four minutes when Gabriel Jesus converted Kevin De Bruyne's devilish cross, at which stage many Brighton fans may have been fearing the worst.

However, they contained the English champions and had chances of their own at the other end, although ultimately it was City who went marching on towards a potential quadruple.

Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of our minute-by-minute updates below.

7.30pmRight, that is all we have time for this evening!
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Brighton as Jesus' early strike sends Pep Guardiola's into the final. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now!

7.28pmManchester City will be returning to Wembley next month for the FA Cup final as they edge to victory over Brighton this afternoon, taking another significant step towards a potential quadruple.
Brighton more than held their own and made things very difficult for Man City, but ultimately Gabriel Jesus's fourth-minute header proved to be the difference.

90+4 minMANCHESTER CITY REACH THE 2019 FA CUP FINAL!

FULL TIME:

90+4 minMANCHESTER CITY 1-0 BRIGHTON

CHANCE!

90+2 minMan City survive and immediately hit Brighton on the break as Jesus clips the ball into the path of Sterling, whose first-time volley is too close to Ryan.

90+1 min...and Brighton have a free kick in a dangerous area!

90+1 minThere will be three minutes of added time at the end of this match! Can Brighton force extra time?

89 minBrighton have put everything into this match but time is ticking away from them now. Just one minute of normal time remaining!

SHOT!

87 minNow Danilo tries his luck from range and he hits it well, but he cannot keep it down and the ball flies over the crossbar.

SAVE!

86 minIs this Brighton's moment? Propper picks out a great pass to Izquierdo, who takes a touch before firing an effort towards goal. Ederson makes it look easy by catching it, but it almost squirms out of his grasp.

84 minLocadia, by the way, was the player who sparked Brighton's comeback against Millwall in the last round with an 88th-minute strike at 2-0 down. Can he do something similar here?

82 minBRIGHTON SUB: Brighton make their third and final sub as Jurgen Locadia replaces Bissouma. Final throw of the dice for Chris Hughton's side!

80 minMAN CITY SUB: Mendy has lasted almost 80 minutes on his comeback as he is replaced by John Stones, which will see Laporte switch to the left. That is their final change.

78 minTime is in Man City's favour right now, but they will still want that second goal to set their nerves at ease. This has not been as comfortable as most expected.

76 minBernardo twists and turns inside the area looking for a crossing chance, but he ends up knocking it back straight to Andone. The sub is all alone, though, and in the end does well just to win a free kick.

74 minThis has not been a vintage Man City performance by any means. Ryan has had a couple of long-range shots to save in this half, but aside from the goal City have not really created any big chances.

YELLOW CARD!

72 minDunk picks up a yellow card, and he can have no complaints having jumped into a challenge on Silva.

71 minBRIGHTON SUB: Another change for Brighton as Jose Izquierdo replaces Jahanbakhsh.

SHOT!

70 minA sign of frustration for Man City perhaps? Laporte tries an uncharacteristic shot from a long way out and it ends up a long way over the bar.

68 minI mentioned that Brighton would want to get to the final 20 minutes still in the game - well, they are very nearly there! Still all to play for!

66 minBRIGHTON SUB: Brighton respond with their first sub of the afternoon as Florin Andone replaces Murray.

65 minMAN CITY SUB: Change for Man City here as Fernandinho replaces De Bruyne.

SAVE!

64 minRaheem Sterling looks to take things into his own hands with a curling effort towards the corner, but Ryan is at full stretch to push it away.

63 minMan City are just started to gain control over the ball again now and pin Brighton back into their own half. The Seagulls are sure to tire in the latter stages having chased the ball so much today.

SAVE!

61 minGundogan tries his luck with a dipping volley and catches it well, but it is straight at Ryan who makes a comfortable save.

60 minAn hour gone in this FA Cup semi-final now and Brighton remain right in the game. There could be an argument that they have even been the better team since the break - certainly the more threatening.

58 minDe Bruyne is down and stays down for a moment before getting to his feet and limping back into an onside position. He is not moving very freely at all.

56 minBrighton are not going down without a fight today. They have been more than holding their own in this second half so far.

CLOSE!

54 minOh my word, how has this stayed out?! Duffy climbs really well in the box to get his head to the corner, beating Ederson to it in the process. The ball bounces down into the six-yard box and looks certain to either go in itself or be hooked home by Murray, but Laporte gets there before either can happen with a goal-saving clearance over his own crossbar.

53 minGood spell for Brighton this. They win a few set pieces in quick succession, which could well be their best route to a goal today. The latest is a corner...

51 minThe resulting free kick is swung into the middle by Knockaert, but De Bruyne is back there to help out and clear.

YELLOW CARD!

50 minDanilo goes into the book just five minutes after coming on for a challenge on Jahanbakhsh, who again goes down without much of a touch and delayed. He could well have had two yellow cards for dives today, in addition to the one he has.

48 minMan City, needless to say, will be keen to get that two-goal cushion as early as possible in this second half. It hasn't often been nervy for them this season, but this certainly isn't straightforward at the moment.

KICKOFF:

46 minManchester City get us back underway for the second half, and they have made a change at the break with Kyle Walker being replaced by Danilo.

6.32pmMan City began the match as firm favourites and that will have only increased at half time, but Brighton are still in the game and will be buoyed by how well they defended after the difficult opening.
The Seagulls do need to offer more going forward, but if they can remain within one heading into the final 20 minutes or so then there is always a chance.

6.30pmAt that stage it looked as though it might be a long afternoon for Brighton, but Mat Ryan hasn't had much else to do in truth and Brighton have contained City after weathering that early storm.
Indeed, it is Brighton who have had the more notable sights of goal since that opener too, although both have come from range with Propper and Knockaert firing off target.

6.28pmThe opening goal arrived after only four minutes as Man City made a perfect start to the semi-final, breaking the deadlock in some style too.
Laporte and Walker combined in the buildup, but the real telling moment of quality came from De Bruyne as he whipped a cross right into the corridor of uncertainty. There was nothing the defence could do, whereas Jesus was on his toes and stooped to nod the ball home from close range.

6.26pmThe first half comes to an end at Wembley and it is Manchester City who predictably have the lead at the interval - although not quite by the margin some might have expected after an early goal.
City have absolutely dominated from start to finish, but Brighton did begin to grow into the game and worked very hard to ensure that they remain in the game at the halfway stage.

HALF TIME:

45+2 minMANCHESTER CITY 1-0 BRIGHTON

45 minThere will be two minutes of added time at the end of this first half.

43 minMan City were in a similar position to this against Cardiff in midweek and scored just before half time to effectively kill the game. Brighton will be desperate to get to the break with just a one-goal deficit here.

41 minThe clock ticks away to half time and Chris Hughton will be pretty pleased with what he has seen so far after that difficult start to the match. Certainly many of the fans may have expected worse than 1-0 after falling behind so early.

SHOT!

39 minAgain Brighton have the chance to break and it initially looks as though they are short of options again, but Bissouma keeps it alive before finding Knockaert. The winger tries to take on Mendy and manages to get a shot away, but Ederson has it covered as it rises wide of the target.

37 minWhen Brighton do have the chance to break forward, they are often finding themselves with not enough options or taking too long to make a decision. Still nothing serious for Ederson to do, but Brighton have at least made it through the early storm.

35 minA hint of a chance for City, but it would have been some goal. Mendy's clip into the box is flicked on and loops into the air, where Otamendi tries his luck with a volley but fires it well off target.

33 min...which rules that it wasn't quite worthy of a red. Walker would have been very nervous there - I've certainly seen them given!

YELLOW CARD!

32 minWalker is a bit of a lucky boy here! He puts his head to Jahanbakhsh and makes a definite movement towards the Brighton man, after being angered by what he felt was a stamp on the back of his leg. The referee opts for only a yellow card apiece, but we will go to VAR...

30 minJahanbakhsh buys a free kick with a dive as he cuts inside past De Bruyne and goes down despite there being no contact whatsoever. The referee fell for that one.

28 minStephens has about third bites at Silva before the referee actually blows for a free kick in a dangerous position...

26 minSure enough Walker will try to run that one off. Guardiola is unlikely to take any risks with the Champions League on the horizon, but he will also be wary of giving Mendy a full 90 minutes on his first game back so would like to keep a full-back in reserve.

24 minMore concern over a full-back for Man City now as Walker goes down and needs treatment. It is bad enough for Danilo to get up and ready to come on, but it looks as though Walker may be able to continue.

22 minGundogan threads a lovely pass through to Sterling, who in turn feeds Silva down the left channel. The Spaniard can't do much on the byline and tries to put a low cross back into the middle, but Ryan is there to gather it.

SHOT!

20 minBissouma drives forward at the heart of the Man City defence and Brighton are able to keep the pressure on before Propper fires wide from 25 yards. Much, much better from Brighton in the last five minutes or so, though.

18 minBetter from Albion now as they win a corner following a slick move forward, but it comes to nothing. Just a few signs that Brighton are starting to grow into this game, though.

16 minBrighton are seeing more of the ball now, but it is all coming inside their own half. City are doing such a good job of pressing high that the Seagulls just cannot get out at the moment.

14 minBrighton finally get their feet on the ball for a few passes in a row, which could do them the world of good. Nothing came of it, and it was still only a relatively short time in possession, but it was their longest yet.

12 minCity have had 81% of the ball in these opening exchanges, and the way they are playing that figure may not drop too much. They have started the match really brightly.

10 minMan City are right on their game today. They really are remarkable team, able to play at a level which is almost impossible to live with around 95% of the time.

8 minKnockaert throws himself to the ground in dramatic fashion in an attempt to win a free kick, but the referee waves it away and then calls him over for a word afterwards.

6 minThis is an ominous start for Brighton. The one thing they would have wanted to avoid first and foremost was conceding an early goal, but they were cut open by some serious quality there.

GOAL!

4 minPerfect start for Man City! Jesus gives them the lead after less than four minutes, and it is a beauty as well.
Laporte pings a great pass out to Walker, who knocks it back inside for De Bruyne. The Belgian instantly swings a devilish and undefendable cross into the box, and Jesus is there with a low diving header to put it past the keeper. Brighton couldn't get close to them.

GOAL!

4 minMAN CITY 1-0 BRIGHTON (GABRIEL JESUS)

3 minUnsurprisingly, Man City have started quickly - as they always do. The Brighton fans are in fine voice, but their side has been the back of foot in the opening minutes.

KICKOFF:

1 minHere we go! Brighton get us underway at Wembley!

5.29pmBRIGHTON STARTING XI: Ryan; Montoya, Duffy, Dunk, Bernardo; Stephens, Propper, Bissouma; Knockaert, Murray, Jahanbakhsh
SUBS: Button, Bruno, Bong, Burn, Izquierdo, Locadia, Andone

5.27pmMAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Laporte, Otamendi, Mendy; Gundogan, D Silva, De Bruyne; Bernardo, Sterling, Jesus
SUBS: Muric, Danilo, Stones, Fernandinho, Sane, Mahrez, Foden

5.25pmGood afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley!
These are always special occasions, but this one carries a little more weight as Man City go in search of a quadruple this season and Brighton look to upset the odds and reach the final for only the second time in their history. Man City are big favourites, of course, but we all know about the FA Cup's reputation for giant-killings.
Kickoff is just around the corner, so let's have a quick look at the team news before we get started...

Live Commentary: Manchester City 1-0 Brighton & Hove Albion - as it happened

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Teams mentioned in this article :

Manchester City

Brighton & Hove Albion