With City making their 28th appearance at the new Wembley, and this semi-final marking Forest’s second, it was no surprise to see Pep Guardiola’s men start off stronger and click right into gear.
And this positive start saw the Cityzens open the scoring inside just two minutes, as Mateo Kovačić drove through the heart of the Forest defence before picking out Rico Lewis, who took a touch and slotted the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s men took a while to settle into the contest, with the occasion perhaps getting to the players in the early moments.
City were clearly here to do a professional job, and they were relentless against a struggling Forest side. Jack Grealish was proving dangerous down the flanks, with the Englishman creating dangerous opportunities for his teammates.
The Reds’ struggles were highlighted by the fact that they had just over 23% possession by the midway point of the first half. Forest eventually thought they’d made their mark when Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cutback was turned in by Chris Wood, but the offside flag cut short any celebrations.
As a result, they went into the HT break fortunate to be just 1-0 down, having failed to register a shot in the opening 45 minutes.
But Man City began the second half as they did the first, finding the net within six minutes of the restart after a dominant period. Omar Marmoush whipped an inswinging corner into the danger area, where Joško Gvardiol towered above the defence to head home.
Two goals to the good, the seven-time winners of the competition were in full control of the contest, and they almost ended the tie just after the hour mark, but Marmoush’s effort with an outstretched boot was brilliantly saved by Matz Sels.
With just under 30 minutes to salvage a brilliant cup run, Forest gave it one big push and turned momentum on its head, but they were twice agonisingly denied by the woodwork.
First, Morgan Gibbs-White’s superb volley from the edge of the box cannoned off the crossbar, shortly before the England international capitalised on a mistake in the City defence, rounding Stefan Ortega but striking the far post with the angle against him.
Forest continued to throw everything at Guardiola’s men and were denied by the woodwork once again after Taiwo Awoniyi stuck a leg out to steer home a loose ball that crashed off the post.
In the end, City weathered the Forest storm and a professional performance books their place in a 14th FA Cup final, where they will meet Crystal Palace, who will be aiming for a first-ever major trophy.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Joško Gvardiol (Manchester City)