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Pep Guardiola praised Mateo Kovacic as “extraordinary” after Manchester City reached the Fa Cup final with a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
City progressed to a third final FA Cup thanks to the goals of Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol, the first presented by Kovacic in the second minute.
The Croatian was at the forefront in Wembley, where Forest hit the carpentry three times in the second half while looking for a return route to the contest.
Despite Forest’s misfortune, the city was deserved winners, since they maintained their hopes to save the covers of a lively disappointing season.
And Guardiola made a praise point about former Real Madrid midfielder and Chelsea Kovacic after they reserved a meeting with Crystal Palace on May 17.
“Kovacic is extraordinary. The last three or four games have been incredible,” Guardiola told Itv Sport.
“At your age you can’t play every three days, but we are lucky to have time to recover. We need it for the quality and composure it has.”
Guardiola used the same adjective to describe Lewis, who broke the point of the dead with the first shot of the game.
“I am smart but not enough to see that (Lewis scoring),” Guardiola added. “Its positioning in the pockets is extraordinary.
Pep 💬 Seven semifinals in a row, three finals talk about this generation of players and this club in itself. We are very happy that we are there. pic.twitter.com/omnykadhzx
– Manchester City (@mancity) April 27, 2025
“It was a good start. The way we played did not allow them to make many transitions where they are so dangerous. Nor did they arrive much in the final third with the crossings with (chris) wood, etc.
“In the game they had opportunities, this is a team that with a game in hand is better than us in the Premier League.
“They created a little more than in the game we played there one or two months ago (in the Premier League). They are a great team. In general, I liked most of the things we did.
“Seven semifinals in a row and three Finals in a row … It’s not bad!”
Morgan Gibbs-White hit the crossbar and inside the post for the forest, while Taiwo Awoniyi also reached the post.
“A few months ago, the ball enters the post,” Guardiola said about the fortune of the city in the second half. “It goes to one side or on the other side. Everything is in the head, in the minds of the players.”
City must now be forwarded in his fight for the football of the Champions League next season. Guardiola’s men are fourth, a point ahead of Forest in sixth after having played one more game, with five teams that qualify for the Champions League this season.
“If you said three years ago, you would get to three Fa finals in a row, come on. It’s amazing,” Guardiola said.
“Now we have four finals to go to the Premier League and we have to recover and return to Wolves (Friday).”
