Four consecutive FA Cup finals. No club in the history of the competition has ever done that. Manchester City joined a list of one on Saturday at Wembley, coming from behind in the last eleven minutes to beat Southampton 2-1 and reach the showpiece for the fourth year running.
The Man City FA Cup final appearance in 2026 was almost not a Man City FA Cup final appearance at all. With eleven minutes left at Wembley, Saints led 1-0 through Finn Azaz’s strike. City’s record looked set to end. Then Doku equalised. Then Gonzalez scored one of the goals of the season. Then the final whistle blew.
Football at its most compressed: an entire storyline reversed in the last eleven minutes of a Wembley semi-final before 70,053 spectators.
The Comeback
Southampton had no right to be losing at full time. They took the lead in the 79th minute through Finn Azaz, a left-footed finish that silenced the sky-blue majority inside Wembley. The upset was on. City had not found a way through for most of the match. Southampton were organised, direct, and for long periods more threatening than their Championship standing would suggest.
Jeremy Doku changed that on 82 minutes. His effort took a deflection on its way into the net, the sort of fortune that separates winners from losers in knockout football. One-all. City back in it.
Then Nico Gonzalez. Eighty-seventh minute. Twenty-five yards out. A strike into the top corner that needed no deflection, no luck, no second chance. It was the kind of goal that wins matches before it has even finished leaving the foot. Southampton had nothing left to reply.
The Historical Context
City appeared in the FA Cup final in 2023 (beat Manchester United). In 2024. In 2025. Now in 2026. Four consecutive finals. The record books required updating after the final whistle on Saturday.
For context: the previous benchmark was three consecutive finals, shared by several clubs across different eras. City have gone beyond it. At a time when the Premier League calendar is congested and squad rotation is constant, reaching four consecutive FA Cup finals is a consistency of performance in knockout football that no one else has matched.
Guardiola’s side have won one of their previous three finals in this run (2023). The record of appearances is exceptional. The conversion rate in the final itself is the thing they will want to address in May.
What the Numbers Say About City’s Late-Game Threat
City were behind with eleven minutes left. They scored twice. That kind of comeback is not simply fortune.
Manchester City’s ability to apply pressure in the final ten to fifteen minutes of matches is well documented across the Guardiola era. Their squad depth allows for high-quality attacking substitutes. Their possession-based system means teams that lead against them often find themselves pinned back, defending under sustained pressure in a way that becomes unsustainable over time.
Saturday was exactly that. Southampton led. Southampton sat deep. City kept the ball, kept probing, and eventually found the gaps. Doku’s deflected equaliser opened the door. Gonzalez’s strike from 25 yards closed the tie.
From a modelling perspective, City’s late-game threat makes them consistently difficult to price in knockout markets. A team that can equalise from 1-0 down with eight minutes left and win with a minute to go is dangerous for any late-game assumption about probability.
The Final to Come
City will face the winner of Sunday’s Chelsea versus Leeds semi-final in the FA Cup final at Wembley in May. Either opponent represents a significant challenge.
Chelsea have the Premier League quality and the Wembley experience. Leeds, if they progress, would arrive as sizeable underdogs on paper but with the energy and motivation of a club chasing a historic cup run.
City will be favourites against either. But favourites have lost FA Cup finals before, and City’s own recent final record shows the format does not guarantee the better side wins.
Guardiola’s Wembley Record
Pep Guardiola has now managed Manchester City to four consecutive FA Cup finals. Each one a different test. Each navigated through a congested late-season schedule.
The question heading into May is whether his starting XI will carry enough freshness to perform across both the Premier League title run-in and a cup final in the same fortnight. City are three points off Arsenal at the top of the table with a game in hand. The domestic schedule does not ease up.
But City have been here before. Four times.
Final Thought
Southampton played well enough to win this match. For 79 minutes they were in the game, and for a brief period, they led it. They deserved more than they got.
City got what City always seem to get at this stage of a cup run: a goal when it mattered most.
Four consecutive FA Cup finals. The record is theirs. Now comes the harder task of winning it.
No comment