Pep Guardiola's well-drilled side established an early advantage through Rico Lewis before Josko Gvardiol's second-half header sealed their passage to the final. City will now face Crystal Palace, who secured their spot with a 3-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday, in the showpiece event at Wembley on May 17th.
This will be Manchester City's 14th appearance in the FA Cup final, presenting them with an opportunity to lift the coveted trophy for the eighth time, with two of those triumphs occurring since Guardiola's arrival in 2016. Notably, City will be aiming to avoid a repeat of last season's final, where they were defeated by their local rivals Manchester United, having triumphed over the same opponents in the 2023 final.
For Guardiola, the FA Cup represents a significant opportunity to salvage what has been a somewhat turbulent season by his high standards. In addition to their FA Cup aspirations, City are also focused on securing a top-five finish in the Premier League to ensure Champions League qualification. Currently sitting fourth with four league games remaining, City will head into the final as strong favourites, having convincingly defeated Palace 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium earlier in April.
However, Guardiola will be acutely aware that nothing can be taken for granted this season. The confirmation of Liverpool ending their four-year reign as English champions, coinciding with the final whistle at Wembley, will serve as a stark reminder of the challenges they have faced.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest, who remain in contention for a Champions League spot, just two points behind third-placed Newcastle with a game in hand, will need to regroup and refocus on their league ambitions. Their FA Cup journey ends at the semi-final stage, marking only their second visit to the rebuilt Wembley since 2007, a stark contrast to City's 28th appearance.
The atmosphere at kick-off reflected this disparity, with the vocal Forest supporters creating a vibrant backdrop, though noticeable empty seats in the City sections were apparent. However, it wasn't long before the City faithful had reason to cheer as their team made a blistering start, taking the lead in just the second minute.
Slick City Display
Guardiola had spoken in the lead-up to the game about his team rediscovering their spirit and passion, citing the exuberant celebrations of Bernardo Silva's early goal against Villa in midweek as evidence. His side once again demonstrated this renewed intensity with a dominant opening. After a spell of intricate passing, Rico Lewis found himself with space on the edge of the Forest box and unleashed a powerful drive that nestled into the bottom corner.
City's relentless pressing game proved too much for Forest to handle, and Nico O'Reilly was able to weave his way through the defence before firing a shot just wide. Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo's team selection was hampered by suspensions and injuries, forcing him to gamble on the inexperienced 18-year-old Zach Abbott at right-back, while surprisingly leaving Anthony Elanga on the bench.
For much of the first half, these decisions appeared to backfire. Abbott struggled against City's attacking waves, and Forest lacked a cutting edge in the final third without the presence of Elanga. Consequently, Forest failed to register a single shot in the first half and had just one touch inside the City penalty area.
Nuno rectified this at half-time by introducing Elanga, and the winger should have marked his 23rd birthday with a goal, but he fired wide after being set up by Callum Hudson-Odoi. However, City underlined their clinical edge in the 51st minute. After Matz Sels parried Matheus Nunes' shot away for a corner, Gvardiol rose unchallenged from Omar Marmoush's delivery to head home City's second goal.
Forest showed belated signs of life as Morgan Gibbs-White struck the crossbar with a volley and later clipped the post, while Taiwo Awoniyi also hit the woodwork with a back-heeled flick. Ultimately, these efforts proved to be too little, too late as Manchester City celebrated a comfortable victory, keeping their hopes of silverware alive and avoiding what would be their first trophyless season since 2016-17.