Man City one game from more glory as Pep Guardiola's patched-up team reach FA Cup final

The cloak of invincibility may sit a little less snugly on Pep Guardiola's shoulders these days - but his campaign could still end in glory. While in any given year his players have become accustomed to a multi-trophy assault on various competitions, he will still have the opportunity to lift the FA Cup.

Rico Lewis's second-minute opening goal and Josko Gvardiol's thumping header clinched a spot in the final against Crystal Palace - their third appearance in successive seasons. It ended a difficult week on a satisfying note after the Catalan's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were given a last-gasp shot-in-the-arm by victory over Aston Villa. And this one can be marked down as a triumph for the fertile imagination that has become his hallmark. Guardiola can overthink situations, such as in the Champions League final against Chelsea four years ago.

But he had to devise a Plan B with striker Erling Haaland still struggling to shake off a nagging foot and ankle problem. He did. And it came up trumps.

A big part of Forest's success has been the dominance of the centre-back pairing of Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo. Guardiola chose to give them nothing they could command.

His twin threat was Omar Marmoush on the left flank and Savinho on the right. Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis flitted about, overloading the midfield area.

Kevin de Bruyne, who has regained his mojo as his career at the club nears its end, was left to kick his heels on the bench. It can only be assumed that this is part of some grand master plan for finishing in the top five.

The tactic worked within two minutes of the game starting. Mateo Kovacic wandered infield and, with no pressure on the ball, found Lewis who controlled and drilled into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

That gave Guardiola's side breathing space. Forest's fire had been doused.

Nuno Espirito Santo had to act at the interval. He chose to introduce Anthony Elanga from the bench. And that should have earned a reward. The Swedish international side-footed Callum Hudson-Odoi's cross wide within one minute of the restart.

However, their evening was ruined when Gvardiol out-jumped Murillo to head the second from Marmoush's left-wing corner.

Forest could - and possibly should - have made this far closer as they finally showed the kind of form that has seen them occupy third place in the Premier League for long spells this season.

In the final quarter, they contrived to hit the goal frame three times. First, Morgan Gibbs-White smashed a lovely left-foot volley from the edge of the area into the crossbar.

Then the same player almost profited after Nicolas Dominguez caught Gvardiol dithering. He rounded Stefan Ortega only to hit the foot of the post from an acute angle.

And Forest's noisy red contingent probably guessed it wouldn't be their day when sub Taiwo Awoniyi stuck out a leg and diverted a shot, clipping the woodwork again.

There were numerous scares in front of Ortega late on - but the victors had their moments too as the game became stretched.

With five days to prepare for the visit of in-form Wolves on Friday night, all of a sudden the horizon doesn't appear so bleak for Guardiola and his patched-up crew.