Manchester City produced a calm yet clinical display at Wembley, defeating Nottingham Forest two nil in the semi final to secure a third consecutive place in the world’s oldest cup final. The holders of seven previous FA Cups showed maturity in possession and intensity without the ball.
Academy graduate Rico Lewis set the tone inside two minutes, arriving from midfield to curl a composed finish beyond Matt Turner after being found by the influential Mateo Kovacic. The goal quietened the Forest support and injected confidence into every sky blue pass that followed.
Early in the second half Josko Gvardiol doubled the advantage, powering a header past Turner from Bernardo Silva’s corner to ensure City avoided a nervous finale. Forest rallied through counter attacks, yet Ederson commanded his area and the back line smothered Chris Wood.
Reaching three consecutive finals places Guardiola’s men among the competition’s elite, and victory on 17 May would raise the club’s FA Cup tally to eight, level with Tottenham in the all time list.
They will face Crystal Palace, fresh from a vibrant triumph over Aston Villa, in a match scheduled for a three o’clock start that could move earlier to avoid a clash with the Eurovision Song Contest final in Basel.
Guardiola welcomed the milestone yet insisted that even a Wembley win would not disguise a campaign in which Liverpool wrested away the Premier League crown and European hopes ended early. He described the season as not good and challenged his squad to respond with renewed hunger next term.
