Manchester City booked their place in a third consecutive FA Cup final after a controlled 2–0 victory over a spirited Nottingham Forest at Wembley.

Right from the whistle, it was clear that Pep Guardiola’s side intended to stamp their authority early. Rico Lewis gave Manchester City the lead after just 2 minutes, calmly slotting home after a clever move involving Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.

Despite going behind so early, Nottingham Forest refused to roll over. Nuno Espírito Santo’s men grew into the game, but City’s trademark ball retention starved them of real chances. City went into halftime in complete command, having restricted Forest to zero shots on goal.

The second half saw Josko Gvardiol double City’s lead with a powerful header from a corner. Forest fought bravely, rattling the post three times through Taiwo Awoniyi and Morgan Gibbs-White, but lacked the clinical edge to trouble Stefan Ortega in City’s goal.

Pep Guardiola was full of praise for his side afterwards. He mentioned that this season hasn’t been an easy one, but his team were resilient today and they showed that they still had the mentality of Champions.

Guardiola also noted that while Manchester City fell short in the Premier League this season, the FA Cup offers a chance to close out the year with silverware and maintain their winning culture.