Manchester City’s experience shone through as they easily defeated Nottingham Forest to secure their third straight FA Cup final appearance.
While celebrating their FA Cup final berth against Crystal Palace on May 17th at Wembley, Manchester City conceded the Premier League title to Liverpool, who triumphed over Tottenham on Sunday, ending City’s four-year reign.
A comfortable win in London’s warm weather saw City in charge from the start, and now they hope to end a poor season by winning the prestigious cup for the eighth time.
Despite fewer fans, City’s Kovacic quickly assisted Lewis, whose accurate shot found the bottom corner after only two minutes, quieting the Forest supporters.
City had the better of the opening stages as Forest struggled to settle, with Marmoush and Grealish creating a chance and O’Reilly having a shot after some good work.
Seconds after the restart, Callum Hudson-Odoi set up Anthony Elanga with a pass across the box, but on his 23rd birthday, Elanga sent his first-time shot wide from close range; Nuno Espirito Santo’s team should have equalized.
Manchester United’s former winger was punished for his miss when City extended their lead six minutes into the second half; Josko Gvardiol headed home from Omar Marmoush’s corner.
Forest hit the woodwork thrice in their attempt to claw their way back into the contest. Morgan Gibbs-White’s stunning volley hit the crossbar, and later, after rounding goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, his shot struck the post from a difficult angle.
Substitute Taiwo Awoniyi’s shot hit the post, and Ortega made a full-stretch save of Nicolas Dominguez’s header. Forest realized it wasn’t their day as City secured a Wembley rematch.