April 27, (THEWILL) – Manchester City defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Wembley on Sunday to reach their third consecutive FA Cup final.
The defending champions will face Crystal Palace in the showpiece event after goals from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol proved sufficient against a Forest side that hit the woodwork three times.
City took control early when Lewis found the bottom-left corner with a precise turn and shot from the edge of the penalty area after just two minutes.
Pep Guardiola’s side dominated the opening period, with young talent Nico O’Reilly nearly doubling their advantage but firing wide from distance following an impressive run past two defenders.
Forest increased their intensity after half-time and should have equalised when substitute Anthony Elanga missed a golden opportunity, side-footing wide from close range following excellent work from Callum Hudson-Odoi.
This profligacy was punished moments later when Gvardiol powered a header into the top corner from Omar Marmoush’s corner delivery to extend City’s lead.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest team mounted a spirited response with Morgan Gibbs-White striking both the crossbar and post in separate attacks.
Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi also hit the woodwork before City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega produced an outstanding save from Gibbs-White’s point-blank header to maintain the clean sheet.
The victory maintains City’s pursuit of silverware this season, having previously won the FA Cup during the previous campaign.
Their opponents in the final, Crystal Palace, reached Wembley after their semi-final triumph, setting up what promises to be an intriguing contest between Guardiola’s serial winners and the Eagles.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
