Rico Lewis scored after just 109 seconds to ensure Manchester City reached a third successive FA Cup final after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Wembley Stadium.
Josko Guardiol doubled City's lead on 51 minutes before luck smiled on them when Morgan Gibbs-White hit the crossbar and then the post as he tried to help Forest equalise.
Taiwo Awoniyi hit the woodwork for City for the third time in the match with 10 minutes remaining.
But on the day Liverpool knocked them off the Premier League title, Pep Guardiola's side showed resilience to keep their only hope of finishing the season with a trophy alive.
City, who won the FA Cup in 2023 and finished runners-up last season, now face Crystal Palace on May 17 after beating Aston Villa 3-0 the previous day.
City failed to sell their 5,000 allocated seats while the noise was made by Forest fans enjoying their first FA Cup semi-final in 34 years.
But they were left stunned when Lewis opened the scoring with less than two minutes remaining.
Lewis received the ball from Mateo Kovacic and then slid unmarked to the edge of the area to return it. He then set himself up with one touch for a shot that Forest goalkeeper Mats Sels was unable to stop as it flew into the bottom corner.
Lewis's impressive early goal set the tone for a first half that Guardiola's side completely dominated. In fact, Forest had only a handful of touches of the ball in the opening 10 minutes.
In the 16th minute, Omar Marmouche missed the target, but defender Nico O'Reilly was unable to hit the target.
Forest ended the first half woefully without a shot on target, while City had plenty of chances to book their place in next month's final.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
