Nottingham Forest vs Man City LIVE RESULT: Lewis and Gvardiol fire Pep’s side to blockbuster FA Cup final against Palace
MANCHESTER CITY have booked their spot in this year's FA Cup final where they will take on London outfit Crystal Palace!
Nottingham Forest fell behind inside TWO minutes courtesy of a sublime strike by Man City teen Rico Lewis.
And Josko Gvardiol rose highest before heading in City's second shortly after the interval.
- RESULT: Nott'm Forest 0-2 Man City
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Experience told?
Remarkably, that was City's 30th appearance at Wembley in the last 14 years.
It's almost a home game at this point.
Whilst Forest have only been here twice since the rebuild!
With Palace chasing their first ever major trophy, will experience prove too much on the day?
More from Morgan
He added: "I think if we get a goal then we get another one. That was just the flow in the game at the moment.
"We had a few good chances that we didn't make the most of and all I can put that down to is that it wasn't our day.
"We have a game plan that everyone believes in and sticks to. We executed it well in the first half. We nullified them apart from their goal. And the main thing is that we came out fighting in the second half."
Confirmed
Elanga regrets?
Nuno was quizzed on his decision to leave Anthony Elanga off at the start.
The winger came on at half time and could - and should - have brought them level within 40 seconds of the restart.
Nuno told the BBC: "I regret so many things in my life, but that is not the point.
"It is about having a squad to manage the situations that we have to attend to and the absences. Anthony came really well and strong to the game and created difficulties.
"When we look back and analyse, we have a lot to fight for. After the sadness goes away we'll be stronger.
How they stand
Nottm Forest winning their game in hand on Thursday would see them jump back to third in the table.
As it stands, they're a point behind FA Cup finalists Man City in the division.
A win on Thursday might also see Forest dreaming of a second placed finish, too...
Morgan: I'm sorry
Morgan Gibbs-White has apologised to Forest fans after his two misses that came back off the woodwork.
He told ITV: ""It's devastating. I feel sorry for the fans. I hold my hands up and apologise. I should have scored at least one of them [chances].
"As a team we did not start well. That is what we wanted to do. And then second half we came out fighting and we gave it absolutely everything.
"The support never stopped until the very last second and we thank the fans for that because they have been so consistent with us throughout the season.
"I'm lost for words really. I'm sad to go out like that. We gave it our everything but we keep going. We've still got the Premier League to focus on."
Match report
What a strange old FA Cup semi-final this was.
Thousands of Manchester City fans didn’t bother turning up for it - and neither did Nottingham Forest’s players for the first hour.
On the day when City’s four-year reign as champions of England came to an end, goals from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol, early in either half, booked Pep Guardiola’s men a third successive FA Cup Final appearance.
There were almost 10,000 empty seats in the City end, with Wembley 17,000 short of its 90,000 capacity.
And City keeper Stefan Ortega could have taken one of those vacant places in the stands for the entire first half, when he was a complete spectator.
With Mateo Kovacic outstanding in midfield, City showed patches of their vintage form as they secured a final date with Crystal Palace on May 17.
Limit the damage
More from Pep, who told the Beeb: "Champions League is the most important thing, that would limit the damage. This season has not been good.
“I want to say thank you to our fans, I know how difficult it is to come here with work tomorrow, the wickets and the travel.
“I can't thank them enough and hopefully they will join us and see us in the final."
Goal scorer speaks
Rico Lewis - who scored the opener inside the first couple of minutes - told ITV: "I am over the moon with the goal.
"Today was a tough game but we showed a different side of our game where we can survive and get through it in the game.
"We have so many midfielders who can keep the ball. That allows the front men to have more freedom."
"Winning this would mean a lot. We showed character today, this season we showed character.
"It's not been smooth sailing but we have picked ourselves up and shown we are a top team."
"We have top players and we can get through tough situations. Now we are on the up we can take it into next season."
Nuno reacts
A gutted Nuno Espirito Santo told ITV: "Both teams had chances. City started the game much better than ourselves and they were really clinical.
"We did a good game, did well, competed well and had our chances. We knew how hard it was going to be but we gave it our all.
"It is important to take the positives. After the sadness and bad humour goes away, and you look back at the game it makes us stronger for the future.""
Five to go
Five Premier League fixtures left for Nottingham Forest as they continue their pursuit of Champions League football.
And it's certainly a winnable run....
- Brentford (H)
- Crystal Palace (A)
- Leicester (H)
- West Ham (A)
- Chelsea (H)
Much more competitive
They were lucky to go in at the break only 1-0 down.
But the stats show they certainly gave it a go in the second half, Forest.
All eight shots coming in the second half and almost double the passes in the second period than the first!
More from Pep
The City boss told BBC Sport: "They pushed a little bit more in the second, we knew it.
"We lost some balls - the fatigue was there. The experience we have fell down.
"The ball, the way it bounces, for both sides is difficult to control it. It cannot be quicker.
"We managed and I am really pleased to again be in the FA Cup final."
Kovacic reacts
The City midfielder told ITV: "It was a deserved win for us.
"From the first minute we scored the goal with Rico. They are a strong team and had a few chances.
"But it's a deserved win and we are happy for another final."
No longer champions
Huge afternoon for Manchester City in the context of their underwhelming season.
But their title as Premier League champions was ripped away from them at the same time as progressing to next month's final.
Liverpool thumped Spurs to get over the line emphatically and deservedly clinch the title this afternoon.
Man of the match
Ten to five I let you know that Mateo Kovacic was man of the match.
He's been confirmed as man of the match for this tie after a terrific performance.
Superb prediction from me, that's why I get paid the big bucks.
Immediate reaction
A little bit from Pep Guardiola, who told ITV: “It was a good start. We didn’t allow them too many transitions where they are so, so dangerous.
“Seven semi finals in a row, three finals in a row. Not bad.”
Support
Blue Moon playing inside Wembley for the victors but there's still plenty of noise from the Forest side of the ground.
They were here in their numbers and made their voices heard for much of the afternoon.
Many have stayed behind to show their appreciation to Nuno and his players.
It has been a super season for them and they're still very much in the Champions League hunt.
Deserved
City were just too good on the day, helped massively by that early goal.
Forest put up a good fight when 2-0 down but they always had a mountain to climb by that point.
City motoring at the end of the season once again and doing so without Ederson, Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
Lloyd Canfield from Wembley Stadium
It's all over, and Manchester City vs Crystal Palace will be your FA Cup Final when it takes place here at Wembley on the 17th May.
It will be hard not to back the winners here today in that one, as it will mark their 29th visit to the home of football since this version of it was built.
Their supporters were outnumbered by a large margin, but the players on the pitch showed up for those who made the long journey down.
Blue moon rings out, and the City fans go electric as the full-time whistle blows.
As for Forest, their FA Cup dream might be over, but their fans are full of support at full-time, and on another day if the post and crossbar were a few inches further apart they may well have won this 3-2.
They may not have made the final, but have still had a remarkable campaign - a win over Brentford on Thursday will see them move up to third in the Premier League.
FULL TIME!
Manchester City have reached the FA Cup final yet again!
90+3 – Nottm Forest 0-2 Man City
Elanga's cross is too deep and misses everyone.
Hudon Odoi retrieves and despite a bit of hesitant defending, Ortega comes off his line to claim.
He releases quickly for Doku who runs 70 yards before Sosa cleans him out five yards outside the Forest box on the left.
90+2 – Nottm Forest 0-2 Man City
A deep, deep ball into the City box from a free kick on halfway is met by Milenkovic who heads it back into danger.
But Gvardiol is there again to nod behind for the Forest corner.
Lloyd Canfield from Wembley Stadium
The official man of the match has been announced, it's Manchester City's Mateo Kovacic.
He played a vital part in his side's opener with a silky assist, and controlled the game in the middle of the park.
A classy performance from a classy midfielder.
90 – Nottm Forest 0-2 Man City
Four minutes added on at the end.
The City supporters break into the Poznan celebration as they begin to look forward to another trip here next month.