LATE SEMI-FINAL COMEBACK BEATS SAINTS TO MAKE MORE HISTORY
City 2-1 Southampton, FA Cup Semi-Final, 25 April 2026
Goals from Jeremy Doku and Nico in the last seven minutes at Wembley saw City come from behind to become the first English side to reach four consecutive FA Cup finals.
On a glorious spring afternoon in a sun-soaked London, Guardiola's side probed throughout the first half, and when Southampton's defence was breached, Saints' goalkeeper Daniel Peretz was on hand to thwart shots on goal.
Tijjani Reijnders saw an effort saved by Tonda Eckert's side's stopper before the south coast outfit thought they had taken the lead when Leo Scienza slotted home, but the Brazilian's goal was ruled out for offside.
Following the interval, City were certainly in the ascendency but were lacking the final decisive action against a watertight Saints defence which contained former Blues Academy graduate Taylor Hardwood-Bellis at the heart of the backline.
Then, against the run of play, and with just over 10 minutes remaining at Wembley, Finn Azaz broke the deadlock with a smart turn and unstoppable strike from the edge of the area.
Undeterred, Guardiola's team lifted the tempo and equalised three minutes later when Doku's curling effort took a slight deflection and nestled into the bottom corner.
With extra-time looming, the ball broke out to Nico who took and touch and struck a thunderous effort into the top corner - a goal worthy of winning any game.
And with that, City reached a record-breaking fourth straight FA Cup final which will see us walk out at Wembley for the 24th time under Guardiola's guidance.