What a strange old FA Cup semi-final this was.
Thousands of Manchester City supporters were not bothered to get it – and the players of Nottingham Forest nor the first hour.
On the day on which the four-year-old government of City when Champions of England ended, goals from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol, asked in both half, the men of Pep Guardiola a third consecutive FA Cup-Laatste appearance.
There were almost 10,000 empty seats in the city end, with Wembley 17,000 shortage of its 90,000 capacity.
And city holder Stefan Ortega could have taken one of those vacant places in the stands the entire first half when he was a complete spectator.
Mateo Kovacic Outstanding in midfield showed City pieces of their vintage shape while they protected a last date with Crystal Palace on 17 May.
Forest hit the woodwork three times in a late rally skipper Morgan Gibbs-White did this twice, including a stunning long-distance volley.
But after Aston Villas Bonnissen through Palace on Saturday, for a second consecutive day, an upward day Midlands Club Entirely Underwhelmed in Wembley.
There was no doubt about which set of supporters were more for this – the forest end was rammed and raw.
And given the fact that this was the seventh consecutive FA Cup – and and the final of their club – and their 28th big game at the new Wembley – it felt like a much routine day out for City.
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Guardiola may be accused of 'reflecting on it' for a big game again when he Kevin De Bruyne, as well as Ilkay Gundogan, near Ilkay.
But within two minutes Lewis – a surprise selection in midfield, had hit the opener home.
Kovacic was the Creator, who kept a challenge at the head and a pass to Lewis, who moved his shot past Matz Sels and in the bottom corner.
Kovavic was managed as a forest in midfield and won several tackles, while City kept their opponents back.
Jack Grealish, his shinpads now almost microscopic, was threatening like a false nine.
City was on an unbeaten run of seven games since the loss in the forest at the beginning of March
Omar Marmoush burned one over, but City played like something from their peak years.
Nuno had handed a first big start of his 18-year-old defender Zach Abbott and together with the rest of the forest defense, the child was seriously under the pump.
Only the 24th minute forest had a touch in the city cabinet, they hardly ventured into half of the opposition – and every time they did, they were caught offside.
Nico O'Reilly, who appeared from the left backwards midfield, performed a pirouette and drilled a shot scary wide.
But City had taken their foot off their gas and in the break this died a death. Forest had not succeeded in registering a single shot and only one touch in the city cabinet succeeded.
There was no surprise when Nuno Anthony Elanga sent on the break, instead of Danilo, and he clearly had a rocket inserted a few jackets.
And forest had a shot a minute in the second half. Hudson-Odoi ran to the left and centered low for Elanga stuck wide from close by.
Yet that brief expansion of attacking intention of a short duration was when the city began to pepper the forest goal.
First Sels saved a angular shot from Lewis with his feet near the nearby pole, after which the forester pushed a Matheus Nunes effort.
And then Sels made a brilliant improvised stop with his feet of a bent Kovacic effort.
Nevertheless, the heroic deeds of the Belgian were in vain because, from the resulting corner, supplied by Marmoush, gvardiol above Murillo jumped for a powerful header that doubled the city's lead.
Soon Grealish's Reverse Pass Marmoush whose shot was divested by Sels.
But when Gibbs -White – a summer target for City, who had been quiet all afternoon – met an elanga center with a stunning volley that deposited the bar and combined a beautiful technique with thunderous power.
And Gibbs-White then hit the woodwork for the second time in four minutes.
City was seriously sloppy to play from the back and a dozy gvardiol card was intercepted by the forest skipper, who completed Ortega but shot from a tight corner against the pole.
Forest organized a very late comeback attempt and Sub Taiwo Awoniyi shot against the post before Ortega saved brilliantly and pushed away a Gibbs-White header.
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