Riyad Mahrez fired Manchester City into the FA Cup final on Saturday as the Algerian’s hat-trick sealed a 3-0 win against Sheffield United at Wembley.
Mahrez’s superb display dispatched the EFL Championship underdogs, ensuring City ended their run of three successive FA Cup semi-final defeats.
The 32-year-old shattered Sheffield’s resistance with a penalty late in the first half and completed his treble with two clinical finishes after the interval.
Photo: Reuters
Manager Pep Guardiola’s side are back in the final for the first time since 2019, when they won the FA Cup for the only time in the Spaniard’s reign.
They are the first team to reach the final without conceding a single goal since Everton in 1966.
“It is the fourth season in a row we are in the semi-finals. We could not win in the past, but today we performed,” Guardiola said.
“We cannot forget we were in Munich three days ago. It could be hard. We had to perform well and we did it. All the guys who came in were perfect,” he said. “I’m really happy for the club to be back in the final after many years.”
“Riyad is grumpy with me all the time when he doesn’t play. He makes me notice,” Guardiola said, speaking about Mahrez’s match-winning contribution. “When he plays, he is there. That is most important. He is a big-stage player. I’m so satisfied for Riyad.”
City have won 11 of their past 12 games in all competitions and remain on course to win a memorable treble as they chase Arsenal in the English Premier League and face a UEFA Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.
“We are far away, but after many years, winning so many titles, still we are here one more year in the latter stages of the big competitions,” Guardiola of the treble. “The mentality of the club, not just the players, is there. This is why I like to be at this club.”
Second-placed City received a welcome boost on Friday when Premier League leaders Arsenal were held to a 3-3 draw by bottom-of-the-table Southampton.
That result left the champions five points behind Arsenal, but with two games in hand ahead of their crucial clash against the Gunners in Manchester on Wednesday.
With the Arsenal match in mind, Guardiola rested Kevin de Bruyne, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Phil Foden, among six changes from the side that drew at Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday.
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