Manchester City are into another FA Cup final after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Wembley.
Pep Guardiola’s side edged past the Reds in a closely-fought contest in the capital.
Manchester City dominated the first-half, and took an early lead through Rico Lewis, who became the youngest scorer for City at Wembley since Steve MacKenzie in May 1981.
Forest were much improved after the break though, and should really have run City closer.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side hit the woodwork three times, with reported Manchester City target Morgan Gibbs-White twice denied.
Josko Gvardiol grabbed a second for City to make it more difficult for Forest, and in the end, there was to be no comeback.
Mateo Kovacic drew high praise from Pep Guardiola after the game for his display, and former City midfielder Michael Brown also gave the Croatian a very big compliment.
Michael Brown says Man City squad can learn from Mateo Kovacic
Kovacic arguably had his best game for Manchester City against Nottingham Forest, and the praise he’s been receiving is massively deserved.
City have struggled a lot at times this season, but Mateo Kovacic has been one of the best performers.
At times, he’s played the Rodri role, and we all know the quality of the Spaniard.
Kovacic has done a very good job in replacing him for the most part, and has also chipped in with seven goals – meaning this is the best scoring season of his career to date.
He left Michael Brown very impressed yesterday, and the former City midfielder believes he is an example to the whole squad.
He said (via mancity.com): “Kovacic set it all off. He drives into positions and knows when to go and when not to. It’s so amazing that what he’s won, he takes it all in his stride.
“He’s so humble and such a lovely person. He’s a real team player and everyone can learn from him, especially Nico O’Reilly.”
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Kovacic integral to Man City turnaround
City are now unbeaten in their last eight games, and it seems the club are set to finish the season in the right way, after a very difficult first two-thirds of the season.
And Kovacic has played a big part in this mini-run, featuring in six of those eight matches, including the past two FA Cup games.
Guardiola was adamant after yesterday’s win that Kovacic has been superb over the last few games, and is now showing his best level since he came to the club.
Obviously, there is still a fair bit of football to be played before the final against Crystal Palace.
But Kovacic has now put in a solid claim to be starting against the Eagles, and hopefully, he can finally get his hands on the trophy that has eluded him three times before.
