Manchester City came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 to reach the 2025-26 FA Cup Final.
Nico Gonzalez struck a 87th-minute winner from Jeremy Doku’s pass as City came from behind to secure a 15th FA Cup Final appearance.
Finn Azaz initially put Southampton into a shock 79th-minute lead through a curled finish before Doku pulled City level just three minutes later with a deflected finish.
City now await Chelsea or Leeds in the Final on Saturday 16 May at 15:00pm BST.
50 years on from their sole FA Cup title, Southampton arrived at Wembley Stadium on a 20-match unbeaten run in all competitions – during which they stunned Arsenal in the Quarter-Finals, and held little fear as they frustrated City in the opening minutes.
They however rode their luck in the fifth minute as Omar Marmoush slipped Tijani Reijnders in, but the Dutch midfielder’s shot and Phil Foden’s follow-up attempt were both blocked.
Nathan Wood then blocked an offside shot from Marmoush in the 11th minute as City continued to control the early exchanges.
Southampton however were the first to find the net a minute later as Leo Scienza met Finn Azaz’s forward counter-attacking pass in an offside position and cut in from the left, which allowed him space to rifle a low disallowed shot into the far-bottom right corner.
City however struggled to break down the Saints’ defensive line as Mateo Kovacic fired wide and Reijnders fumbled a bicycle-kick shot before half time.
City’s dominance continued after half time as they laid siege inside the Southampton half but Marmoush, Foden, Reijnders and Rayan Cherki saw shots blocked.
Southampton’s resistance eventually proved key as Cherki was intercepted and Casper Jander slipped Kuryu Matsuki a pass out to the left, which saw the Japanese midfielder tee up Azaz to curl the opener into the far-right corner to put the Championship club into a shock 79th-minute lead.
City however found their clinical spark in response and equalised three minutes later as Doku cut across the edge of the box, before he unleashed a low shot which deflected in off James Bree to restore parity.
Southampton’s dreams of a fifth FA Cup Final appearance evaporated in the 87th minute as John Stones’ blocked shot eventually fell for Doku, who cut back for Gonzalez to smash a powerful strike into his near-left corner to complete City’s comeback.
What’s Next?
Man City face a nine-day wait before they return to Premier League action away to Everton on Bank Holiday Monday 4 May at 20:00pm BST.
Southampton though are straight back into Championship action on Tuesday 28 April at home to Ipswich in a 20:00pm kick-off, knowing that victory will set up a four-way final-day decider for automatic promotion on Saturday 2 May at 12:30pm.
Teams
Man City: James Trafford, Matheus Nunes, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Rayan Ait-Nouri (O’Reilly 71′), Nico Gonzalez, Mateo Kovacic (Doku 58′), Rayan Cherki, Tijani Reijnders (Silva 85′), Phil Foden (Savinho 58′), Omar Marmoush (Haaland 71′)
Substitutes: Erling Haaland, Jeremy Doku, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Marc Guehi, Abdukodir Khusanov, Rico Lewis, Savinho, Bernardo Silva, Nico O’Reilly
Southampton: Daniel Peretz, James Bree (Archer 89′), Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Nathan Wood, Welington (Matsuki 76′), Cam Bragg (Charles 61′), Caspar Jander, Tom Fellows (Edozie 89′), Finn Azaz, Leo Scienza, Ross Stewart (Larin 61′)
Substitutes: Cameron Archer, Shea Charles, Samuel Edozie, Elias Jelert, Cyle Larin, George Long, Kuryu Matsuki, Joshua Quarshie, Jay Robinson
Referee – Craig Pawson
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