We reached the 3 June showpiece courtesy of an aggregate score of 17-0 across the five rounds we have competed in so far.
That included a 4-0 win over Chelsea in the Third Round, a 1-0 victory over Arsenal in the Fourth Round, a 3-0 win over Bristol City in the Fifth Round, a 6-0 victory over Burnley in the Quarter-Final and a 3-0 win at Wembley over Sheffield United.
That made us the first team to reach the FA Cup final without conceding a goal en route since Everton in 1965/66.
Preston also did it in 1888/89 while Bury managed it in 1902/03 – making it only a quartet of clubs to reach the final without being breached, other than teams who received byes in certain rounds.
North End won the final 3-0 with victory over Wolves at the Kennington Oval, Bury beat Derby County 6-0 in the final at Crystal Palace while Everton defeated Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 at Wembley.
Hopefully good omens all round!
TIGHT DEFENCE
City were deemed the home team in the FA Cup semi-final which means we have now kept a clean sheet in our last 10 home games against Sheffield United in all competitions.
That traces back to December 1992 when we won 2-0 in the Premier League at Maine Road, courtesy of a David White brace.
In that time, over the 21 years, we have won 14-0 across 10 games.
The win also means we are unbeaten in 13 home games against Sheffield United (W7 D5) since the 3-2 loss in Division 2 in October 1987, goals from David White and Ian Brightwell not enough on the day.
MAHREZ MAKES HISTORY
Riyad Mahrez made history with his hat-trick at Wembley Stadium.
The three-goal haul saw him become the first Manchester City player to score a hat-trick at Wembley – either Old Wembley or New Wembley.
He also scored the first ever FA Cup semi-final hat-trick at Wembley.
The FA Cup semi-finals have been played at Wembley since the 2007/08 season, following a decision made by the FA in 2003.
After this weekend’s City v Sheffield United and Man Utd v Brighton games, there have been 39 semi-finals played at Wembley.
It was also the first in the semi-final of the competition overall since Alex Dawson in March 1958.
Dawson bagged a treble in the Red Devils 5-3 victory over Fulham at Highbury, Arsenal’s old ground.
TOP SCORER MAHREZ
Riyad Mahrez is the FA Cup’s top scorer since he made his debut for City in the prestigious competition.
That came in January 2019 as he started in our 5-0 victory over Burnley in the Fourth Round en route to us winning the competition.
Since then, he’s scored 11 goals in sky blue, putting him top of the scoring charts in the four years that followed.
He’s one ahead of Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Paul Mullin and two in front of Kelechi Iheanacho.
YOUNG AT HEART
Riyad Mahrez may only be 32 but his treble this weekend made him the oldest player to score a hat-trick for Pep Guardiola.
He was 32 years and 60 days when he bagged his trio against Sheffield United.
The second oldest was Sergio Aguero for City against Aston Villa in January 2020 at 31 years and 224 days.
At No.3 is Thierry Henry for Barcelona v Valencia at 31 years and 111 days in December 2008.
Coming in at No.4 is Kevin De Bruyne for City against Wolves, where he actually scored four, at 30 years and 317 days in May 2022.
Completing the Top 5 is Aguero again, for City v Chelsea in February 2019, at 30 years and 253 days.
CITY FINALLY BLUNT BLADES IN CUP
City’s victory over Sheffield United was our first-ever win over them in the FA Cup.
We had lost all four of other ties against the Blades.
The last one was a 2-1 defeat at Bramall Lane in January 2008, Daniel Sturridge scoring a consolation after previous efforts for the hosts through Luton Shelton and Jon Stead.
We lost 2-0 away in January 1939 in the Fourth Round and then 1-0 in March 1914 at neutral stadium Villa Park, after 0-0 draws at both Hyde Park, our old ground, and Bramall Lane in the first replay.
Our first match against the Blades in the competition came in January 1906 as we went down 4-1 in the First Round at Bramall Lane.
