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• City into FA Cup semi-final after 2-1 victory
• ‘We talked a lot about the game we lost here’

Pep Guardiola said Manchester City had recovered some of their missing heart and soul as they advanced to a seventh FA Cup semi-final in a row with a 2-1 win at Bournemouth.

The City manager, whose team have been drawn to face Nottingham Forest, relied on what he called his “legendary” players – Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gündogan – in his side’s win on the south coast.

Arsenal cruised to their sixth successive league win against the relegation-battling Crystal Palace with a controlled victory in the Women’s Super League.

Beth Mead scored a superb double while a first-half finish from Alessia Russo and an own goal from Allyson Swaby completed a dominant afternoon for Renée Slegers’s side.

Championship perennials are beige down to their signature snack but their existence is still something to savour

The man behind the counter at Greggs on Fishergate has never heard of a butter pie, but try Poundbakery over the street. Poundbakery doesn’t do butter pie, but try Greenhalgh’s on the corner. Greenhalgh’s: closed on Sundays. The chip shop on Market Street does meat pie, meat and potato, steak, steak and kidney, chicken and mushroom, cheese and onion. Butter pie? A shake of the head.

You’ve got to try the butter pie. That’s what everyone says the first time you visit Preston. It was created in industrial times, for the largely Catholic working population to eat on Fridays when meat was forbidden. Often you hear it described as a “delicacy”, but even this is to overstate its intensely yeoman nature. It’s layers of potatoes, onions and butter in a pie. It’s cheap. It’s hearty. It’s unpretentious. It exists to be consumed and then immediately forgotten. It is – with deepest apologies – the very embodiment of Preston North End in comestible form.

• Milan midfielder hospitalised ahead of 2-1 loss to Napoli
• Inter edge out Udinese 2-1; Barcelona defeat Girona 4-1

The Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has had successful appendectomy surgery after being diagnosed with acute appendicitis, the Serie A club said on Sunday. Local media reported that during Milan’s training camp in Napoli the England international experienced severe abdominal pain that necessitated hospitalisation for further investigation.

Tests confirmed the diagnosis, prompting the operation, which went well, the club said in a statement. Further details on Loftus-Cheek’s condition have not been provided.

• Former Atlético Madrid executive is replacement for Edu
• ‘I cannot wait to get started in my new role’

Arsenal have confirmed the appointment of Andrea Berta as their new sporting director, with the Italian expected to attend their game against Fulham on Tuesday as he begins his new role immediately.

Berta emerged as Arsenal’s leading candidate to replace Edu who resigned from the post in November to join the network of clubs spearheaded by Evangelos Marinakis, the Nottingham Forest owner. Berta left Atlético Madrid in January after 12 years in the Spanish capital and has been credited with being behind a string of successful signings including Jan Oblak (€4m from Benfica in 2014) and Rodri (€25m from Villarreal in 2018).

• ‘Additional context’ not in public sphere helps inform FA’s decision
• Striker included in training squad for South Korea friendlies

Matildas striker Sam Kerr will be free to return as national team captain once she recovers from her serious knee injury after the Football Australia board decided on no further sanctions for her drunken night during which she verbally abused a London police constable.

The 31-year-old will continue her recovery in camp with the Matildas for the April matches against South Korea, but has not been cleared for a return to competitive football.

Marcus Rashford ended a four-month goal drought to put Aston Villa one step closer to wiping out a 68-year dry spell with his double against Preston helping book a Wembley semi-final as the victors look to win their first FA Cup since 1957.

Rashford is a reigning Cup ­winner, lifting the trophy last May to help extend Erik ten Hag’s stay at ­Manchester United, but that ­success did little to reignite either’s Old ­Trafford career. The 27-year-old has improved at Aston Villa after ­leaving behind his home town malaise but everyone has been waiting until now for him to deliver goals to remind everyone of his key purpose on a pitch, these his first since 1 December.

• Evans departs with Millers 16th in League One table
• Manager feared ‘credit has run out’ after Saturday’s loss

Steve Evans has been sacked as manager of Rotherham after Saturday’s 4-0 home defeat to Crawley, the League One club have announced.

“Rotherham can confirm that, following a meeting between the chairman and manager this morning, the club have parted company with first team manager Steve Evans together with Paul Raynor, Gary Mills and Ian Pledger, with immediate effect,” a club statement said.

Young substitute’s dynamic contribution turns tie around with commanding performance against Bournemouth

The moment that flipped Manchester City’s FA Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth on its head initially went largely unnoticed. As players made a beeline for the tunnel and supporters headed into the concourses loaded with orders for beers, burgers and hotdogs, Pep Guardiola had issued an instruction that would ultimately define this match and earn City passage to a seventh successive semi-final.

As everyone else headed in, his longtime fitness coach, Lorenzo Buenaventura, rushed on to the pitch with a single mission: prime Nico O’Reilly for business. The 20‑year-old from Failsworth, a few miles north of Manchester, ditched the tracksuit top and was quickly put through his paces. O’Reilly would not depart quite so quietly.