Manchester City and Chelsea Advance to FA Cup Semifinals After Decisive Wins

A major surprise unfolded in the FA Cup Quarter-Finals as Arsenal saw their semi-final hopes dashed. The Gunners suffered a 1-2 defeat against Championship club Southampton in a match held at St Mary’s Stadium on Sunday, April 5, 2026, early morning WIB.

Southampton proved efficient despite being under significant pressure. The home side's two winning goals were scored by Ross Stewart and Shea Charles, while Arsenal briefly equalized through Viktor Gyokeres.

From the kick-off, Arsenal took the initiative to attack. The first chance came in the 6th minute via a long-range strike by Max Dowman, but goalkeeper Daniel Peretz made the save. The Southampton keeper demonstrated his resilience again by thwarting a Martin Odegaard opportunity in the 25th minute.

Despite being under pressure, Southampton managed to steal the lead. Capitalizing on a swift counter-attack, Ross Stewart successfully finished James Bree's pass in the 35th minute, putting his team 1-0 up at halftime.

Entering the second half, Arsenal increased the intensity of their play. Their efforts finally paid off in the 68th minute when Viktor Gyokeres converted Kai Havertz's pass to level the score at 1-1.

However, Arsenal's hopes of victory vanished late in the game. Shea Charles scored the decisive goal in the 85th minute with a shot into the bottom left corner that Kepa Arrizabalaga couldn't reach.

Arsenal came close to equalizing in the dying minutes through a Gabriel Martinelli chance, but Peretz denied them once more. This defeat extends Arsenal's negative trend following their earlier failure in the League Cup. Now, their only remaining chances for silverware lie in the Premier League and the Champions League.

In another match, Chelsea delivered a dominant performance hosting third-tier club Port Vale at Stamford Bridge. The Blues feasted on goals with a resounding 7-0 victory.

Chelsea's seven goals were scored by Jorrel Hato, Joao Pedro, Jordan Gabriel (own goal), Tosin Adarabioyo, Andrey Santos, Estevao, and Alejandro Garnacho.

Chelsea took the lead just two minutes into the match through Jorrel Hato, who capitalized on a corner kick situation. The lead was extended in the 25th minute by a finish from Joao Pedro after receiving a pass from Pedro Neto.

Just before halftime, Chelsea pulled further ahead following an own goal by Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, who couldn't deal with the rebound from Malo Gusto's shot.

In the second half, Chelsea's dominance continued. Tosin Adarabioyo headed in the fourth goal in the 57th minute. Andrey Santos then made it 5-0 in the 69th minute, converting from an Estevao corner.

The young Brazilian winger finally got his name on the scoresheet in the 82nd minute. Chelsea capped off their big win with an Alejandro Garnacho penalty deep into injury time.

Meanwhile, Manchester City also secured their semi-final spot after defeating Liverpool convincingly 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Erling Haaland was the star of the victory, scoring a hat-trick, while Mohamed Salah failed to convert from the penalty spot.

City started aggressively. The opening goal came in the 39th minute via a Haaland penalty after Virgil van Dijk fouled Nico O’Reilly. Just before halftime, Haaland struck again for his second goal, converting a pass from Antoine Semenyo.

The home side's dominance continued in the second half. Semenyo made it 3-0 in the 50th minute before Haaland completed his hat-trick seven minutes later.

Liverpool had a golden opportunity through a penalty in the 62nd minute, but Mohamed Salah failed to beat goalkeeper James Trafford. The 4-0 scoreline for Manchester City's victory stood until the final whistle.

These results confirm Chelsea and Manchester City's progression to the FA Cup semi-finals, while Arsenal and Liverpool see their journey in the competition come to an end.