Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City: Pep Guardiola's side back in FA Cup final after easing to Wembley win

Yahoo

16-05-2025

Manchester City reached the FA Cup for a third successive season after they eased to a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola's side took the lead inside two minutes to quickly establish control of the semi-final clash, as Rico Lewis took the ball on the edge of the area and drilled a finish into the bottom corner.
Forest barely laid a glove on City in the first-half but could have equalised seconds after the break when Anthony Elanga, a half-time change, found himself free in the box but could not hit the target.
Josko Gvardiol doubled the lead with a header from a corner, leaving Forest with a mountain to climb, and they had little luck in their attempts to do so.
Morgan Gibbs-White smashed a stunning volley against the bar and was then denied by the post from a tight angle, before Taiwo Awoniyi also found the upright in his way as he reacted quickly to a rebound.
Forest could not get the goal to set up a grandstand finish, as City booked their return to Wembley next month and a familiar stage, when they will take on Crystal Palace in the final.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side have enjoyed a superb season and came into this match with the confidence of having beaten City when these sides met in March, but they made the worst possible start.
Mateo Kovacic, who was named player of the match, strolled forward and played a wonderful pass between the lines to Lewis, who was allowed to turn and made no mistake in arrowing a strike beyond Matz Sels.
Much has been made of Forest's low possession stats but that was taken to the extreme here, as they were camped deep in their own territory and struggled to get any sort of foothold in the match in a passive first-half display.
Elanga's introduction at half-time showed Nuno had not been impressed what what he had seen and the winger should have had an instant impact. Callum Hudson-Odoi was set free down the left, he rolled a low cross into the middle and Elanga, completely free, fired wide.
Kovacic's deflected strike was hooked away on the line by Sels before City did then punish Elanga and Forest for that crucial miss. It was a frustratingly simple goal from the perspective of those in red, a corner swung to the back post and Gvardiol allowed to rise highest to nod in.
To their credit, Forest did everything but score as they desperately pushed for a way back into the match. Gibbs-White could not have hit his volley any sweeter, but saw it crash against the bar, and he then went round Stefan Ortega to leave an open goal but could only hit the far post from a tight angle.
Awoniyi made it a hat-trick against the woodwork, when the ball fell to him in the box and his effort bounced off the post, and Gibbs-White's header was then kept out by Ortega at full stretch.
City saw out the rest of the match in relatively comfortable fashion, as they look to end a frustrating campaign with some silverware. For Forest, it could still prove to be an historic campaign, with Champions League football within touching distance.