Five Things Learned: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City (FA Cup Semi-Final) | OneFootball

Manchester City emerged 0-2 victors over Nottingham Forest at Wembley on Sunday in the Blues’ last opportunity to clinch major silverware in a difficult season.

The game got off to a very quick start after a driving run from Mateo Kovačić towards the 18-yard box drew the Nottingham Forest midfield towards the Croatian, creating space for midfield counterpart, Rico Lewis.

Kovačić found the Englishman with a great ball that allowed him to turn and fire goal-wards from just outside the area. Placed to perfection, a delicate finish found its way into the bottom corner leaving Matz Sels with no chance.

There were little clear-cut chances for what remained of the first period as City went in at the break with their slender lead still intact. Pep Guardiola’s side controlled the game excellently thus far and would be looking to build on a positive performance in the first 45.

Seconds after the restart, a huge Nottingham Forest chance went begging as Callum Hudson-Odoi used pace to charge down the flank and fired a dangerous low cross towards the fresh legs of Anthony Elanga, who could only glance his effort wide of the post.

Five minutes later and Forest would desperately rue that missed chance as an excellent whipped ball from Omar Marmoush from a corner left Sels rooted to the spot whilst Josko Gvardiol climbed highest and thundered a header into his goal doubling City’s lead.

Pep Guardiola’s side now had to be cautious and controlled; the game was in their hands, and keeping the ball would now be the focus, hoping to eliminate any possibility of a Nottingham Forest comeback.

The Blues then began to ride their luck slightly, and an unbelievably clean strike on the volley from Morgan Gibbs-White clattered against the bar, keeping the score at 0-2. Just four minutes later, in the 69th minute, again the woodwork was City’s saviour.

A press forced an error from Josko Gvardiol, allowing Gibbs-White to latch on to the loose ball with a chance against Stefan Ortega. The Englishman rounded City’s number 18 and, from a tight angle, fired a shot at goal that rolled agonisingly across its face but only finding the post.

11 minutes later, it was clear that it was going to be Manchester City’s day, as the upright rescued the former Premier League champions yet again, as this time Taiwo Awoniyi was denied and a flying save from Stefan Ortega shut the door on the follow-up.

Manchester City then used their experience and game management to see out the remaining 10 minutes plus stoppage time, and after a hard-fought victory and a great performance, the Etihad outfit became FA Cup finalists for the third consecutive year.

Here are Five Things We Learned from a huge FA Cup semi-final win!

Rúben Dias x Josko Gvardiol: Scary, but not for us!

Sunday was one of the best defensive performances from Manchester City in a long time as they nullified Nottingham Forest’s prolific front line. Whilst the full-backs were also exceptional, it’s very difficult to look past the partnership in central defence.

Both Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol were exceptional. The latter is likely to get the most plaudits due to his goal, but defensively both were immense as they fought to win every duel and put their bodies on the line to maintain a clean sheet.

Since the rise of Nico O’Reilly, we’ve seen Gvardiol move central, and as weeks go by, we begin to see just why he was trademarked as the best defender at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as he continues to thrive in his natural position and form a formidable partnership with Rùben Dias.

These are promising signs of what could become one of the best pairings in world football.

Rico Lewis: Silencing the doubters

In recent weeks, the youngster has received heavy criticism and, in many cases, been somewhat scapegoated and singled out when Manchester City failed to win. There was heavy scepticism when the Englishman was on the team sheet from the start in such a crucial game.

Rico Lewis silenced those critics.

Not only with his exquisitely taken goal, but Lewis’ all-round play was exceptional, working hard on and off the ball to press, maintain control and dictate play in the middle of the park, winning the ball back and also providing an attacking option and linking up play seamlessly.

All those who slammed his recent performances have changed their tune after a great performance and been reminded that despite poor form, Rico Lewis is an outstanding talent that deserves just as much praise as the recent disrespect.

Remember, City fans: form is temporary, class is permanent.

Mateo Kovačić: Pulling the strings

Mateo Kovačić was impeccable as he ran the show in the engine room for Manchester City, not only with his top-class attacking play, including his perfectly weighted assist for the opener, but also with his overall passing to spread the play and stretch the Forest defence.

The Croatian put on a five-star performance on the biggest stage in English football, controlling the tempo and stitching the Manchester City play together with a 94 per cent pass accuracy.

Defensively, he also ran the hard yards, working unbelievably hard to win the ball back and prevent being caught in transition. The number eight was rightfully awarded Player of the Match for his efforts and was crucial in his side’s progression to the cup final.

Mateo Kovačić has possibly enjoyed his best run of form in his career, especially output-wise, with seven goal contributions bringing his overall goal tally at Manchester City to more than his tally at Inter Milan and Real Madrid combined.

This red-hot run of form shows just how much Mateo Kovačić has grown into the team recently and is thriving in this city side.

Omar Marmoush: The outlet again

Despite not getting on the scoresheet, the Egyptian was on fire, being City’s main creative outlet with his raw pace and technical dynamism, being a constant threat as he was a relentless danger operating in left half spaces and making intelligent runs up the pitch.

Omar Marmoush was eventually rewarded for his efforts, as his pinpoint whipped ball from a set piece found the head of Josko Gvardiol – a statistic to back up his overall great performance.

Since his transfer in January, Manchester City’s new number 7 has only improved in time, and with each passing week, the £59 million signature is looking more and more of a bargain, with the former Eintracht Frankfurt man definitely one to watch for years to come.

A huge win – a chance at silverware

In this difficult campaign for Pep Guardiola and his team, this was a huge performance and a statement victory, and Manchester City secured another date at Wembley in May to add a silver lining to this troublesome campaign as silverware beckons.

The upturn in form has been exponential recently, and the results have started to symbolise signs of the dominant Manchester City of recent years as they look to finish this rollercoaster of a season on a high.

Given the circumstances, most Manchester City fans would be overjoyed if they were to walk away from 24/25 with an FA Cup and UEFA Champions League qualification – not a bad season for the worst in Pep Guardiola’s nine years!