Manchester City 2 Nottingham Forest 0: City player ratings from Wembley | OneFootball

Manchester City 2 (Rico Lewis 2′, Josko Gvardiol 51′)

Nottingham Forest 0

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City beat Nottingham Forest 2-nil to book their place in next month’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. Pep Guardiola’s side made a fast start to the game when Rico Lewis opened the scoring in the 2nd minute. The decision to start Lewis in midfield paid off immediately and it set the tone for the first half. Nottingham Forest hit the woodwork three times in the second half, but a 51st-minute Josko Gvardiol header gave the City the two-goal cushion they needed to book their place in the FA Cup final.

First half

The game kicked off with Manchester City looking calm and poised in possession. There was a crispness to City’s passing play and that would pay the ultimate dividend in the second minute.

RICO LEWIS GIVES MANCHESTER CITY THE EARLY LEAD!!!!!

In the second minute, Rico Lewis would fire Pep Guardiola’s side into an early lead. After some nice passing play across the back, Mateo Kovacic made a driving run from midfield to the edge of the Nottingham Forest area. The Croatian midfielder played a ball to Rico Lewis, who fired a low drive past Matz Sels to give Pep Guardiola’s side an early lead.

After Rico Lewis’s early goal Manchester City dominated possession. They weren’t allowing Nottingham Forest to settle into the game. City’s high press was also unsettling Nuno Espirito Santo’s side. But having said that, there was no second goal although there were several more near chances. It took until the 15th minute for Nottingham Forest to get their first real spell of possession.

Outside of an Omar Marmoush strike from outside the area that went over in the 16th minute, Manchester City were the dominant side but wasn’t creating any chances of note. It took until the 25th minute for Nottingham Forest to begin to settle into the game. But they began to press City and have their own spells of possession. Although they were yet to test Stefan Ortega.

Nico O’Reilly would fire a low drive wide of the Forest goal in the 27th minute. After some neat footwork, O’Reilly created space for himself for the shot which went just wide. It was a sublime piece of play from O’Reilly which showed just how talented a player he is.

Nottingham Forest did create their first real opening in the 33rd minute. A long ball from the back was well-won by Chris Wood, and Forest did set Callum Hudson-Odoi free on the right. But the flag was up for offside so the passage of play was rendered obsolete. But it did perhaps reveal their path through the City defence.

Manchester City take a 1-nil lead into the interval.

Although Pep Guardiola’s side was dominant in possession, they would take a 1-nil lead into halftime. The stand-out performers for City were Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva and Nico O’Reilly. Rico Lewis was making some intelligent runs into the Forest area and you did sense that one of those could lead to another chance in the second half.

Second half

Nuno Espirito Santo made the first substitution at halftime. He brought on Anthony Elanga for Danilo in a bid to get at Manchester City’s defence.

Elanga should have made it 1-all a minute after his introduction. Nottingham Forest burst forward down their left wing and Callum Hudson-Odoi played a quality ball across the City penalty area. Anthony Elanga arrived unmarked and somehow fired wide from just outside the six-yard box. But it was clear that Forest was intent on getting at Pep Guardiola’s side at the start of the second half.

Manchester City would almost make it 2-nil moments later. First, a Rico Lewis shot was saved by Matz Sels. Then a Matheus Nunes strike on his left foot was once again saved by Sels. Mateo Kovacic would hit the rebound into a Forest defender, and Sels would somehow deny Kovacic.

JOSKO GVARDIOL DOUBLES CITY’S LEAD!!!!!

But Matz Sels’ heroics would not deny Manchester City from making it 2-nil. Omar Marmoush played in a fine corner and Josko Gvardiol would head home at the back post to make it 2-nil in the 51st minute. Nottingham Forest has signalled their intent to begin the second half, but it was Pep Guardiola’s side who doubled their lead.

Matz Sels would deny Omar Marmoush in the 63rd minute. A neat piece of interplay between Jack Grealish and Omar Marmoush set the Egyptian free in the Forest penalty area. But his strike was tipped over the bar by Sels.

Morgan Gibbs-White would almost give Nottingham Forest a lifeline with a rasping left-footed volley in the 65th minute. A swift Forest counter saw Gibbs-White set up on the edge of the area. But his volley smacked against the crossbar, with Stefan Ortega well beaten.

In the 70th minute, Morgan Gibbs-White would hit the post. A heavy touch from Josko Gvardiol set up the England international. Gibbs-White rounded Stefan Ortega but his shot hit the post. Nottingham Forest wasn’t going down without a fight, and the job wasn’t done for Manchester City.

To show the game wasn’t over Nottingham Forest almost gave themselves a lifeline once again. First, a Taiwo Awoniyi shot hit the post from an Anthony Elanga cross, then Morgan Gibbs-White had a header saved by Stefan Ortega in the 80th minute. City had a two-goal lead, but Forest wasn’t going down without a fight.

Manchester City successfully navigated the game’s closing stages to book their place in next month’s FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. They had to fight for the victory, and Nottingham Forest does deserve credit for their second-half performance. But Pep Guardiola’s side did what they had to do to book another trip to Wembley.

City player ratings

Stefan Ortega-7/10: Made one crucial save in the 80th minute to keep Manchester City’s lead at 2-nil.

Matheus Nunes-7/10: Got forward well and did his job in possession. Defended well when required.

Ruben Dias-7.5/10: Made several crucial challenges and was composed when required.

Josko Gvardiol-8/10: Scored City’s second and defended well for the most part. Although he did make one error which played in Morgan Gibbs-White but his blushes were saved by the post.

Nico O’Reilly-8/10: A brilliant performance again from O’Reilly. Was good on the ball and did his job defensively.

Rico Lewis-8.5/10: Scored the opener and was good in midfield throughout the game. His runs into the box from midfield were a feature of his play.

Mateo Kovacic-9/10: Manchester City’s man-of-the-match for me. He was dominant in midfield when City were on top. Ran himself into the ground before being substituted. His assist for Rico Lewis’ opener was brilliant.

Bernardo Silva-8.5/10: Another brilliant performance from Bernardo Silva. Did everything for his team and continued his strong recent form.

Savinho-6.5/10: He had his moments but his end product was lacking. But he did offer a constant threat with his driving runs.

Jack Grealish-6.5/10: Played in midfield and offered a threat in possession and control. Was taken off in the 70th minute and replaced by Ilkay Gundogan.

Omar Marmoush-7/10: His movement was a threat to the Forest defence all game. Although his end product wasn’t there he was a constant threat going forward.

Substitutes

Ilkay Gundogan-6/10: Gave Manchester City control when he came on.

Phil Foden-N/A: Not on long enough to mark.

Jeremy Doku- N/A: Not on long enough to mark.

Nico- N/A: Not on long enough to mark.