Manchester City once again flexed their FA Cup dominance, powering their way to another Wembley trip as Pep Guardiola’s remarkable home record in the competition remained intact.
Despite serving a touchline ban, Guardiola watched from the stands as his side delivered a commanding performance, just weeks after lifting the Carabao Cup.
The victory not only extended City’s impressive run but also underlined their relentless consistency on the domestic stage.
Speaking after the game, assistant manager Pep Lijnders highlighted the significance of Guardiola’s achievement, emphasizing the sustained excellence behind the numbers.
“It’s special,” Guardiola’s assistant Pep Lijnders said. “It’s a sign of consistency and quality that the team reaches every year.
“The FA Cup is so, so special, we all know this. But especially for the fans having the chance to travel again and have a nice day with the family, the kids, all the passion around it.
“It’s a special place, Wembley, and you should not take for granted every time a final or semi-final and for sure we don’t do that.”
On the pitch, Erling Haaland stole the spotlight with a clinical display.
After a relatively quiet spell since February, the Norwegian striker roared back into form in devastating fashion.
First, he calmly converted from the penalty spot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way after Nico O’Reilly was brought down.
Then, he rose high to nod home a precise cross before capping off his performance with a thunderous strike off the crossbar to complete his hat-trick.
Lijnders was full of praise for the forward, pointing to his elite mentality and finishing prowess.
“I’ve worked with a lot of good strikers who have scored a lot of goals, reached a lot of finals and won a lot of trophies,” Lijnders said.
“For Erling it was his 12th hat-trick today for Manchester City. The second goal was insane, the way he flies and still puts the ball to the corner. I love these old-school striker goals. I love it.”
As the momentum builds, City now turn their focus to Wembley once again, carrying both confidence and pedigree as they chase yet another piece of silverware.
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