Pep Guardiola lauded Mateo Kovacic as “extraordinary” after Manchester City reached the FA Cup final with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
City progressed to a third successive FA Cup final thanks to goals from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol, the first laid on by Kovacic in the second minute.
The Croatian was to the fore throughout at Wembley, where Forest hit the woodwork three times in the second half as they sought a route back into the contest.
Despite Forest’s misfortune, City were deserved winners as they kept their hopes of salvaging silverware from a disappointing season alive.
And Guardiola made a point of lavishing praise on former Real Madrid and Chelsea midfielder Kovacic after they booked a meeting with Crystal Palace on May 17.
“Kovacic is extraordinary. The last three or four games have been amazing,” Guardiola told ITV Sport.
“At his age he cannot play every three days but we are lucky to have time to recover. We need him for the quality and composure that he has.”
Guardiola used the same adjective to describe Lewis, who broke the deadlock with the first shot of the match.
“I am clever but not enough to see that [Lewis scoring],” Guardiola added. “His positioning in the pockets is extraordinary.
PEP 💬 Seven semi-finals in a row, three finals speak so highly about this generation of players and this Club in itself. We are really pleased that we are there. pic.twitter.com/omNYkadhZX
– Manchester City (@Mancity) April 27, 2025
“It was a good start. The way we played we did not allow them to make much transitions where they are so dangerous. They also did not arrive much in the final third with the crosses with [Chris] Wood and so on.
“In the game they had chances, this is a team that with a game in hand is better than us in the Premier League.
“They created a bit more than in the game we played there one or two months ago [in the Premier League]. They are a great team. In general I liked most of the things that we did.
“Seven semi finals in a row and three finals in a row…. Not bad!”
Morgan Gibbs-White struck the crossbar and the inside the post for Forest, while Taiwo Awoniyi also hit the post.
“A few months ago the ball goes inside the post,” Guardiola said of City’s fortune in the second half. “It goes one side or the other side. Everything is in the head, in the minds of the players.”
City now must refocus on their fight for Champions League football next season. Guardiola’s men are fourth, a point ahead of Forest in sixth having played a game more, with five teams qualifying for the Champions League this season.
“If you said three years ago you would reach three FA Cup finals in a row, come on. It’s amazing,” said Guardiola.
“Now we have four finals to go in the Premier League and we have to recover and go again against Wolves [on Friday].”
