Nico Gonzalez’s stunning strike fired Manchester City into a record fourth consecutive FA Cup final as Pep Guardiola’s men produced a late fightback to beat Southampton 2-1 on Saturday.
The Saints were heading towards a first FA Cup final since 2003 when Finn Azaz’s brilliant finish put the Championship side in front 11 minutes from time.
However, City avoided the same fate that Arsenal suffered in the quarter-finals and remain on course for a domestic treble.
Jeremy Doku’s deflected effort quickly levelled before Gonzalez rifled in from long range three minutes from time.
City will face Leeds or Chelsea in the final on May 16.
“No team has made four finals in a row. It’s extraordinary and hopefully we can arrive with a good momentum,” said Guardiola.
Defeat ends Southampton’s 20-game unbeaten run that has propelled them into contention for an immediate return to the Premier League.
The Saints also knocked out City’s title rivals Arsenal in the previous round and will rue a glorious chance missed to return to Wembley next month.
Guardiola made eight changes from the side that went top of the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over Burnley on Wednesday.
Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva and Doku were among those to miss out and City took 45 minutes to find their feet.
Leo Scienza found the bottom corner early on, but Southampton’s joy was cut short by the offside flag.
City came out for the second half a changed team even before Guardiola turned to his bench to unleash the stars he had kept in reserve.
Omar Marmoush missed his chance to shine on a rare start ahead of Haaland.
The Egyptian spooned the best of City’s chances over the bar before he was replaced by Haaland.
Guardiola also introduced Doku, Savinho and Nico O’Reilly to break down Southampton’s mass ranks of well-marshalled defence.
