The grand setting of Wembley Stadium staged one of the 2024-25 season’s most absorbing cup ties when Nottingham Forest Vs Man City Timeline delivered an FA Cup semi-final of considerable tactical intrigue and individual brilliance on Sunday, April 27, 2025.
Kicking off at 4:30pm BST in front of a sold-out crowd of 72,976 in north-west London, Manchester City reached their third successive FA Cup final with a professional 2-0 victory, with goals from Rico Lewis and Joško Gvardiol settling matters against a Forest side that competed admirably but ultimately could not contain the class of Pep Guardiola’s Citizens.
For Nottingham Forest, the occasion represented an extraordinary achievement in itself — reaching an FA Cup semi-final having spent much of the season battling the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League table — with manager Nuno Espírito Santo using a slightly reshaped lineup that reflected the demands of a side navigating both cup ambitions and top-flight survival concerns simultaneously.
City, however, needed just two minutes to seize control of the match and fundamentally alter its psychological landscape, as the composed and technically gifted Rico Lewis opened the scoring with a finish that stunned Wembley and immediately placed the burden of the tie squarely on Forest’s shoulders.
Nuno’s side reorganised themselves after the early setback and deployed a well-structured 4-4-2, seeking to deny City space through the middle and look for moments of quality on the counter through Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi in the wide areas.
Chris Wood led the Forest attack with characteristic effort and physicality, and the side had moments in the second half — with substitute Taiwo Awoniyi offering fresh impetus — when they threatened to find a way back into the match.
But Joško Gvardiol’s headed goal six minutes into the second half from a City set-piece effectively ended the contest as a genuine competition and confirmed Guardiola’s side’s place in the Wembley final.
Nottingham Forest Vs Man City Timeline — Full Match Events
| Time | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| KO | Kick-off | 4:30pm, Wembley Stadium |
| 2′ | GOAL — Man City 1-0 | Rico Lewis finishes |
| HT | Half-time | Forest 0-1 Man City |
| 45′ | City sub | Changes in second half |
| 51′ | GOAL — Man City 2-0 | Joško Gvardiol heads home |
| 55′ | Forest push | Hudson-Odoi drives at goal |
| 65′ | Forest sub | Sangaré on for Danilo |
| 71′ | Sub | Elanga replaces Domínguez (Forest) |
| 71′ | Sub | Silva on (Forest) |
| 78′ | Forest chance | Wood header wide |
| 81′ | Yellow card | Forest player booked |
| 82′ | Sub | Awoniyi on for Wood (Forest) |
| 87′ | Late Forest push | Gibbs-White free kick |
| 89′ | Yellow card | Ramón Sosa booked |
| 90’+3 | Yellow | Sosa (Forest) |
| 90’+5 | Full time | Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City |
Goalscorers: Rico Lewis (2′) — Man City | Joško Gvardiol (51′) — Man City
Nottingham Forest Vs Man City Timeline — Starting XIs And Stats
Nottingham Forest XI (4-4-2): Matz Sels; Zach Abbott, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, Harry Toffolo; Elliot Anderson, Danilo, Nicolás Domínguez, Callum Hudson-Odoi; Morgan Gibbs-White, Chris Wood
Subs used: Ramón Sosa (for Abbott), Ibrahim Sangaré (for Danilo), Anthony Elanga (for Domínguez), Jota Silva, Taiwo Awoniyi (for Wood)
Subs not used: Carlos Miguel, Morato, Álex Moreno, Willy Boly
Manchester City XI (4-2-2-2): (Starting formation with Lewis and Gvardiol as goalscorers)
| Statistic | Nottingham Forest | Manchester City |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 0 | 2 |
| Venue | Wembley Stadium | Wembley Stadium |
| Attendance | 72,976 | 72,976 |
| Referee | Michael Oliver | — |
| FA Cup Stage | Semi-Final | Semi-Final |
| Outcome | Eliminated | Final |
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London | Attendance: 72,976 | Referee: Michael Oliver
The victory sent Manchester City to the FA Cup final for the third successive year — an extraordinary sequence of cup final appearances that underlines their domestic dominance even in a Premier League season that had not gone entirely to plan — while Forest’s exit at the semi-final stage still represented a landmark achievement for a club that had finished in the lower half of the Premier League table at various points during the campaign.