The Citizens had a much harder time than expected, after a turnaround, eliminating second-tier Southampton (2:1) at Wembley, who had been eliminated by Arsenal a round earlier.
In this way, City ended the team's phenomenal run from "St. Mary's" of 20 consecutive matches without failure.
After a real lullaby in the first half, the last twenty minutes were super exciting, when all three goals were scored.
Pep Guardiola shuffled the cards, leaving Erling Haaland, Nick O'Reilly, Savino, Jeremy Doku and Bernardo Silva on the bench (all of whom later came on) and it would turn out to be the wrong decision.
City had possession but failed to create a real chance, and then a cold shower followed. Niko Gonzales lost the ball in midfield, and Fin Azaz masterfully hit the small net from about 20 meters.
The joy of Southampton fans lasted less than four minutes when Doku shot from the edge of the penalty area, and the ball bounced off a player and into the net, fooling Danijel Perec - 1:1.
As soon as the Championship team started from the center, another shock for City almost happened – Kuriya Matsuki shot straight under the crossbar, but James Trafford was ready.
And then, three minutes before the end of regulation, the most beautiful moment of the match – Niko Gonzalez "fired" a projectile from over 25 meters and took City to another final, atoning for the mistake on the opponent's goal.
In the first minute of stoppage time, Savinjo missed the penalty, after Doku did everything perfectly, but luckily for Pep's team, the penalty did not come this time.
City will play either Chelsea or Leeds in the final, who meet tomorrow, also at Wembley.
