Man City Beats United 1-0 to Reach FA Cup Final

 

Chelsea kept alive its faint hopes of retaining the Premier League title with a 3-1 win at West Bromwich Albion.

Yaya Toure scored in the 52nd minute for City, leaving United in contention for only the domestic championship and Champions League. Toure scored after intercepting a poor clearance by Michael Carrick. United was reduced to 10 men in the 72nd minute when Paul Scholes drew a red card for a dangerous lunge.

Toure dedicated his goal to his brother and teammate, Kolo, who is suspended for a failed doping test. Kolo Toure faces a two-year ban after testing positive for a substance that his former manager at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, said was in a diet pill belonging to the defender's wife.

"I am very sad for him at this moment in time. He is a professional player and he wants to play," Yaya Toure said. "People make mistakes sometimes. It is part of life. It is part of sport."

City is fourth in the Premier League and on course to qualify for next year's Champions League. It plays Stoke or Bolton in the May 14 final — when it will try to end a 35-year streak without a trophy.

"We've done nothing yet," City goalkeeper Joe Hart said. "We've got ourselves into a good position in the league and we've put ourselves in the final."

Backed by an investment of about $1 billion by owner Sheikh Mansour since 2008, City now has a shot at a first trophy since the 1976 League Cup. It reached the 1981 FA Cup final, but lost a replay to Tottenham.

"The boys are over the moon; the club are over the moon," Hart said.

United was without suspended Wayne Rooney while Javier Hernandez, who scored in Tuesday's Champions League victory over Chelsea, was benched.

With six games left, United is seven points ahead of Arsenal in the chase for the Premier League title and plays Schalke in a two-leg Champions League semifinal this month.

Chelsea recovered from a 1-0 deficit, getting goals from Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou and Frank Lampard to move the defending champions within eight points of United. Arsenal hosts Liverpool on Sunday.

Everton continued its late-season rally with a 2-0 win over Blackburn. Birmingham eased its relegation worries with a 2-0 win over Sunderland, and Aston Villa did likewise with a 2-1 victory at West Ham.

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BERLIN (AP) — Jan Polak scored in the last minute, giving Wolfsburg a 2-2 draw with fellow relegation candidate St. Pauli in the Bundesliga. Hannover was held to a 0-0 tie at Hamburger SV.

Goals from Deniz Naki and Matthias Lehmann appeared to put St. Pauli in position for a crucial win after Mario Mandzukic's opening score. But Polak scored to leave both sides even on points in the relegation zone.

Third-place Hannover could be overtaken Sunday if Bayern Munich beats Bayer Leverkusen. Hamburg remains seventh, three points behind Nuremberg, which won 2-0 at Kaiserslautern behind goals from Christian Eigler and substitute Robert Mak.

Roberto Firmino scored the winner for Hoffenheim, which beat Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 at home. Stuttgart ended Cologne's seven-game winning streak at home with a 3-1 victory.

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GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Stephen Craigan scored his first goal in five years to help Motherwell beat St. Johnstone 3-0 and reach the Scottish Cup final for the first time since 1991, when it last won the trophy.

The 34-year-old defender headed in a fifth-minute corner kick that eluded goalkeeper Peter Enckelman's attempted catch. Jamie Murphy scored with a low shot in the 14th minute and John Sutton made it 3-0 with a 25-yard shot six minutes before halftime.

Twenty years after beating Dundee United 4-3 in the final, Motherwell will meet Celtic or Aberdeen on May 21 at Hampden Park.

With Celtic playing Aberdeen in the second semifinal Sunday, Rangers defeated St. Mirren 2-1 to leapfrog its great rival and take a one-point lead in the Scottish Premier League.