Manchester City met Nottingham Forest over the weekend in their FA Cup semi-final and were 2-0 winners to secure their third final in a row.
Manchester City took part in the FA Cup semi-finals during the weekend, where a victory secured them a place in this year's final. And after disappointments in the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup, the importance has heavily increased more than ever.
Going into the match, many could have expected a close battle between the two Premier League top-five chasing sides. Both Man City and Nottingham Forest are in contention to finish the season within the top five, meaning they would qualify for the next season's Champions League.
But, it's a close fight between the two and also Chelsea, Newcastle and Aston Villa, as only five points separate third from seventh place.
The race for the top five heats up with only a few matches remaining of the 24/25 Premier League campaign. But the attention for three out of the five competing sides was firmly on the FA Cup this weekend, and booking their place in the grand final next month.
In Saturday's semi-final game, it was Aston Villa who took on Crystal Palace, who are currently ranked 12th in the PL. For Villa, besides claiming a trophy this season after their efforts in the Champions League came to an end in the quarter-finals, they would have also seen the FA Cup as a way of promising themselves some European football next term, with a victory sending them to the Europa League.
However, it was Crystal Palace who reigned supreme with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa and qualified for the final. A huge achievement for the Eagles, who could potentially end their season with a trophy and a pass to the Europa League.
For Manchester City, an early Rico Lewis goal and then a Josko Gvardiol second-half success gave the Sky Blues the victory and earned them a place in their third FA Cup final in a row.
For their opponents, Nottingham Forest, despite all of their commendable efforts this season, they will not finish with a trophy in their midst, and the same goes for Aston Villa. The only focus for the two now will be to end in the top five of the Premier League.
The final has been confirmed now, with Manchester City and Crystal Palace going head-to-head on the 17th of May in battle for the prestigious trophy.
Pep Guardiola reaction
"Three finals (in a row) speaks so highly about this generation of players and this club in itself. We are really pleased that we are there."
"This season has not been good because what defines it is the Premier League. Since I have been here always we have been there, but we try to avoid damage and qualify for the Champions League."
"We have five days to play a team like Wolves, who are playing really good. We have four finals in the league, and then unbelievably pleased to play Crystal Palace. Yesterday, you saw how good they are."
"Really pleased to be in the final again."