City to play Crystal Palace in FA Cup final
We were excellent from start to finish on our 20th trip to the national stadium under Pep Guardiola.
Goals early in each half from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol respectively made the difference in a game that easily could have had a bigger scoreline.
It means we’ll return to the national stadium next month to play Crystal Palace in the annual showpiece.
After our run of four straight League Cup triumphs earlier in Pep Guardiola’s reign, this win also ensures we’re the first club ever to play in the final of both domestic cups three seasons running.
What happened
The day immediately had all the hallmarks of a classic cup outing, with the spring sunshine baking Wembley’s arch and the contrast of red against blue proving particularly striking.
And a focused City needed less than two minutes to take the lead.
Coming from deep in midfield, Mateo Kovacic burst beyond one challenge and rolled the ball into the path of Rico Lewis on the edge of the box.
Our Academy graduate took a touch and found the bottom corner in expert fashion, sending the blue half of Wembley into a frenzy.
Gallery: Lewis and Gvardiol strike at Wembley!
A dominant City enjoyed more than 80% possession in the first 20 minutes, with Kovacic in particular driving us on from the heart of midfield.
Jack Grealish and Omar Marmoush were the beneficiaries of much of that hard work further back, linking up to create several half chances from range.
The only frustration for Pep Guardiola and our travelling fans was that we weren’t more than one goal up.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s surprise package hit us on the break with the pace of Callum Hudson-Odoi in last month’s Premier League meeting and it was clear for all to see they had planned for something similar this time around.
City remained conscious of that as the first half wore on but it was our attacking talent who looked the most threatening – even without unduly troubling Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.
The half-time introduction of Anthony Elanga appeared to give our opponents renewed energy and the substitute could easily have levelled the scores with his very first touch.
Set free down the left a minute into the second half, Hudson-Odoi squared for Elanga to poke wide of Ortega Moreno’s near post.
Instead of spurring Forest on, that warning sign lit a fire in City bellies to double our advantage within minutes.
Even before the goal, we had come within inches of another when Mateo Kovacic’s half-blocked volley rolled towards the line only for Sels to stick out a leg and flick it clear.
We weren’t to be denied from the resulting set piece, with Josko Gvardiol powering a header home from Omar Marmoush’s whipped corner.
Marmoush thought he’d scored the third himself when he struck a left-footed effort powerfully at goal, but Sels shot up a hand to turn it over in the nick of time.
Forest’s influential captain Morgan Gibbs-White almost pulled his side back into the game moments later, sweetly hitting a volley that all at Wembley could only watch as it clattered the crossbar.
Gibbs-White, a creati wasn’t done there, hitting the post from a tight angle after pouncing on a loose ball.
An end-to-end period followed, with Savinho and Nico O’Reilly denied only by last ditch sliding tackles in the Forest penalty area.
The woodwork and Stefan Ortega’s strong wrists then combined to all but end Forest hopes in the same flurry, with Awoniyi flicking the ball onto the post before our German goalkeeper bounced to his feet to parry a Gibbs-White to safety.
In the end, it was a magnificent team performance that was rightly lapped up by the travelling City fans as the final whistle sounded.
Teams
CITY XI: Ortega, Nunes, Dias (C), Gvardiol, O’Reilly, Lewis, Kovacic, Bernardo, Savinho (Foden 81), Grealish (Gundogan 71), Marmoush (Doku 81)
Subs: Ederson, Nico, De Bruyne, Reis, Akanji, Khusanov
NOTTINGHAM FOREST XI: Sels, Abbott (Sosa 82), Milenkovic, Murillo, Toffolo, Danilo (Elanga 46), Dominguez (Jota 82), Anderson (Sangare 71), Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White (C), Wood (Awoniyi 71)
Subs: Miguel, Morato, Moreno, Boly
Man of the Match
Rico Lewis – Pep Guardiola calls the Academy graduate a coach’s dream due to his ability to pick up any information the boss gives him.
This performance, in the heart of midfield rather than at full-back, perhaps stands alone as his best in a City shirt.
His goal, less than two minutes after kick-off, was the perfect demonstration of a brave midfielder willing to venture into tight spaces.
Once there, his close control was perfect to give him the room to shot for the bottom corner.
He remained a driving force from then on, bursting beyond his colleagues on several occasions to provide a vital attacking outlet.
Quality Kova
On marathon day in both London and Manchester, Mateo Kovacic put in an equally exhausting day’s work in the middle of the park here.
The Croatian international set the tone by driving into space for the opener and threading a delightful pass for Rico Lewis.
He went from strength to strength from that point on, sparing no energy in and out of possession.
Always neat and tidy with the ball at his feet, the No.8 mostly made his mark by biting into tackles quickly to win it back on the rare occasions Forest threatened to break out.
A man used to the big occasion, the midfielder lit up one of football’s grandest stages in this one.
Pep reaction
The boss’ thoughts on today’s game will follow shortly.
Lewis reaction
“Obviously I’m over the moon with my goal. It’s just a position that I like to play, it’s different to playing as a full-back and then coming inside, you know, you’re always inside.
“Today was a tough game, but you know we showed a kind of different side to our game where we can survive and get through it at the end.”
What it means
City will contest a third successive FA Cup final when we play Crystal Palace at Wembley on Saturday 17 May.
A kick-off time will be confirmed in due course.
A victory in that would mean Pep Guardiola’s 19th major honour as Manchester City boss.
What’s next
We host Wolves at the Etihad Stadium on Friday 2 May in our penultimate home Premier League of the 2024/25 season.
That kicks off at 20:00 (UK) and we’ll have full coverage as always across mancity.com and our official app.
