Manchester City beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 on Sunday afternoon to book their place in the FA Cup final, where Crystal Palace await.
Goals from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol at the start of both halves put the Cityzens in an imperious position, but Forest could've easily worked their way back into the contest amid a vastly improved second-half display.
City now have the chance to cap a bitterly disappointing season with silverware, as they squashed Forest's dream of claiming their first FA Cup trophy since 1959.
How the game unfolded
Pep Guardiola knew his team would be in for a mightily frustrating afternoon had they allowed Nottingham Forest to get ahead early, with Nuno Espirito Santo's side being more proficient than anyone else in the Premier League this season when it comes to scoring the first goal in games.
Here, City played the Uno reverse and opened the scoring through Rico Lewis inside two minutes. Mateo Kovacic's driving run unbalanced Forest's block, with Lewis having ample time from the edge of the box to fire a pinpoint effort beyond Matz Sels.
Forest struggled to get a kick in the aftermath, as the Cityzens performed with vintage verve in the opening stages. Guardiola's side asserted total control, with their positional fluidity and connectivity in central areas overwhelming their opponents.
The red shirts seem to suffer from Nuno's tactical switch which limited them in wide areas, but they at least held firm defensively and ensured the cup tie didn't escape them in the first half. City, for all their superiority, struggled to work Sels after taking the lead. Nico O'Reilly came close with an effort from distance, while Savinho had a couple of goal-bound shots blocked.
Nuno had to change tack for the second half, and the arrival of Anthony Elanga saw Forest revert to a more familiar set-up. With his first touch, the Swede should've drawn Forest level after Callum Hudson-Odoi broke in behind down the left and picked him out in the box, but Elanga failed to hit the target.
The winger was made to rue his miss soon after by Josko Gvardiol, who headed City into a 2-0 lead from Omar Marmoush's corner after Sels had saved expertly from Kovacic. The Cityzens threatened a rout, but Forest came on strong after falling two goals behind.
Their resurgence was sparked by a hopeful Morgan Gibbs-White attempt with his left foot which beat Stefan Ortega but hit the woodwork. The Forest skipper was then handed a gift by Gvardiol, but his effort cruelly kissed the inside of the post from an acute angle after he rounded the City goalkeeper.
There was no sense that City were hanging on, and they continued to threaten Sels' goal without taking the cup tie beyond Nuno's men. Substitute Taiwo Awoniyi followed in his captain's footsteps by hitting the post with an instinctive effort from inside the area, and that proved to be Forest's last major moment in the semi-final.
Player ratings
Check out the player ratings for Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City.
Rico Lewis shines in unfamilar role
Manchester City won a Premier League title in the absence of a recognised centre-forward. Pep Guardiola's utilisation of Ilkay Gundogan and Phil Foden as false nines inspired the Cityzens to Premier League glory in 2020/21, and the Spaniard has reverted to the footballer he adores more than any other to mitigate Erling Haaland's absence: the midfielder.
Instead of using Omar Marmoush as a like-for-like replacement, Pep has opted for inside forwards and false nines. City's configuration constantly alters, but it has been somewhat of a 4-2-4 with plenty of reference points between the lines. On Sunday, Marmoush and Savinho supplied width with help from their marauding full-backs, while Jack Grealish primarily occupied the left half-space. Working with the winger-by-trade was opening goalscorer Lewis, who would've done Gundogan proud with his masterful performance in an unfamiliar role at Wembley.
The young Englishman hasn't played all that much as of late, but Guardiola entrusted him to shine as a key facilitator in attack. While Lewis functioned in City's frontline, rarely did he seek to penetrate in behind. His job was to lure a stubborn Forest backline out of their disciplined shape, and he took advantage in the first two minutes when they were too late to jump.
There were other exemplary performers in sky blue, namely Kovacic and Gvardiol. Still, Lewis' display served as a reminder of Guardiola's ability to problem-solve, as well as the young Englishman's talent amid a difficult individual season.
Nuno's tactical switch doesn't pay dividends
Nuno's first-half set-up was odd. Speedster Elanga was left on the bench, and he had Hudson-Odoi functioning off the shoulder of Chris Wood. The plan must've been to go long and have Hudson-Odoi running in behind, but rarely did they test City's defence with direct passes into the front man.
Elliot Anderson and Gibbs-White have both enjoyed excellent seasons, but Nuno's initial set-up rendered the pair redundant. They were neither here nor there. It was no surprise that he changed things up at half time. He had to.
Suddenly, Forest were able to test City out wide, while Gibbs-White drifted much more central. The improvements were distinct, and they created more than enough to get themselves back into the game after Gvardiol headed Guardiola's side into a 2-0 lead.
City were brilliant in the first half, but Nuno's set-up must be questioned. Perhaps his team were merely stunned by their early concession. They're not used to going behind!
Three-straight FA Cup finals for City
There's no denying that 2024/25 has been a pretty awful season for Manchester City, yet they'll be backed heavily to end the year with silverware. Although, they'll have to be close to their very best to beat a Crystal Palace side that dazzled under the arch against Aston Villa.
After winning on Sunday, Pep Guardiola's side have become the third team this century to reach three successive FA Cup finals after Arsenal (2001-2003) and Chelsea (2020-2022). They're seven-time winners, but have lifted the iconic trophy just twice under the Spaniard.
While City continue to surrender high-quality openings, they were supreme for the most part in possession here against a stubborn Forest team. Guardiola's ability to find solutions has come under heavy scrutiny this term after Rodri tore his ACL, but he's stumbled upon an efficient formula without leading goalscorer Haaland, who'll likely be back for the final.
READ THE LATEST FA CUP NEWS, PREVIEWS & RATINGS HERE
feed
