Pep Guardiola hails Manchester City's performance as Citizens reach FA Cup final

Lewis Henderson
Sat, 25 Apr 2026 19:52:39 +0000

Pep Guardiola hailed his Manchester City side's performance as the Citizens reached the FA Cup final.

The Spaniard's side had to come from behind to beat Southampton 2-1, winning the game with a late strike from Nico Gonzalez.

Speaking to the press after the game, Guardiola said: "It's the FA Cup; a semi-final is always like that.

"We make an incredible, incredible, incredible second half, really good.

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"It's always nice to be here fighting against top teams. No team has made four finals in a row.

"It's extraordinary, and hopefully we can arrive with a good momentum."

The Spaniard picked out Matheus Nunes as one of the standout performers, saying he is "becoming one of the best right-backs in the world".

Nunes played his part in a resilient city performance, having to come from behind to win 2-1.

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Nico Gonzalez's thunderbolt saw the Citizens come from behind to beat the Saints in a thrilling semi-final.

Finn Azaz initially handed Southampton the lead with an incredible right-footed curler before being answered back inside four minutes.

Jeremy Doku's deflected strike gave City the momentum, with Gonzalez's strike enough to keep the domestic treble hopes alive.

"Really special for me, especially because I'm not used to scoring these goals," Gonzalez told TNT Sports.

"So with the winning goal like this, in this amazing stadium, it's amazing."

Just after the game, Doku told the BBC: "Every time you reach the final, you're like, 'Wow, what a journey it has been.' Reaching the final again is unbelievable.

"I was analysing the game in the first half. We were playing in the middle a lot. I knew that I had to bring a threat and make it uncomfortable for the fullbacks.

"I watched (Southampton's) game against Arsenal, and I felt they deserved to win.

"They have a lot of quality players; I was not surprised (by how good they were)."

City set up an FA Cup final with either Chelsea or Leeds United, who play at Wembley tomorrow.