Wright-Phillips’ delight at Bernardo winner | OneFootball

Former City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips couldn’t hide his joy as Bernardo Silva’s late winner booked another FA Cup final date for the Blues.

The Portuguese scored the only goal of the game against Chelsea five minutes from time and Wright-Phillips, talking pitch-side at Wembley in the full-time segment of our Matchday Live show, couldn’t have been happier.

“That's what he gives you - he misses a penalty a few days ago against Real Madrid and then he plays against Chelsea in the semi-final; and scores the winner that takes you to the FA Cup final. That is Bernardo Silva,” said SWP.

“He's a quality player, he's calm, he doesn't worry about a past mistake, and he just gets on with it and then provides more greatness.”

Wright-Phillips also praised the impact of Jeremy Doku, who was outstanding after coming on as a replacement for the injured Jack Grealish.

The Belgian’s trickery caused a new problem for the Chelsea defence and SWP says his unpredictability is also his major strength.

“We needed someone to create havoc and cross the ball in low became there was no Erling Haaland,” he said.

“Doku came on and changed the game for us. He just brings something different - Chelsea were playing with such a low block we needed someone to do something unexpected.

“We worked so hard - the boys stood up to be counted after two really difficult games this week - what Pep and his coaches do week in, week out, works magic for the boys.

“The reception the lads got after the final whistle was amazing, and the boys deserve thoroughly deserve it – you could see what it meant to them.”

Steve Howey agreed Doku’s style is so hard for any full-back to deal with, adding: “What he does - and does very well - is he will run, stop the ball, and then go again and it's a nightmare for a defender because he’s so quick.

“I think Malo Gusto maybe didn’t fancy it because he was carrying a bit of a knock and carried on, but then seemed to think, ‘maybe it’s a bit worse than I thought!’ and came off!

“I must admit, when Pep went up to Bernardo after the final whistle, I had a lump in my throat myself because you could how much it means to everyone, and I'm absolutely delighted for him.

“It was emotionally draining this week, and this was one hell of a tough game - Chelsea should have scored at least one, maybe two goals, but wow - what characters we have and the togetherness they have, making it so hard for teams to beat them and the will to win to win and determination to get over the line is just magnificent.

“Football sends you up and down and it’s an emotional rollercoaster, but the lads will be so relieved and happy in that dressing room.”

Former skipper Richard Dunne added: “The pain of the defeat against Real Madrid was huge for the group, so to then put in a shift like that - a different type of performance than we’re used to because we had to dig in - and come out of it with this result is fantastic.

“The mentality of this group shone through for me more than anything  - we've had a tough time, but we still keep going and in the end, our quality saw us home.”

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