City secured their finest victory in the Sheikh Mansour era thanks to a Yaya Toure strike early in the second half. The prize is a return to Wembley to take on Stoke in our first FA Cup final since 1981.
Truth be told neither side brought their best game to the final. United were stronger in the opening half hour while we had the better of the same period in the second half. The difference was Yaya Toure taking our golden chance while Berbatov fluffed theirs.
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Hart – Made two tremendous saves at crucial times against Berbatov and Nani. The rollocking he was giving his team-mates in the closing minutes for not retaining possession demonstrated a real hunger for victory on his other home ground. 9
Zabaleta – Not surprisingly Pablo looked a little rusty at first and equally unsurprising was the way he grew into the game. Embodied the spirit of the day with a host of telling challenges. 8
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The first ever derby to be played at Wembley is set to prove the greatest test thus far for Roberto Mancini and his team. Since the draw was made United have hit top form, while Mancini suffered his worst match as City manager on Monday – and Tevez is missing.
Once again we are portrayed as the underdogs, with the media talking of a United treble. It’s worth remembering that in the last derby at Old Trafford we were equal to United, losing only to an overhead shot by Rooney, and that’s not going to happen this time.
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City booked their first appearance at the new Wembley, and their first FA Cup semi-final since 1981 courtesy of a Micah Richards header from a David Silva corner. Reading provided spirited opposition but the return of Nigel de Jong helped ease City through.
Signs of fatigue were inevitable in a City side who had only returned from the Ukraine at 5am on Friday morning. Mancini sought to refresh his side intelligently with four changes in the shape of Vieira, de Jong, Wright-Phillips and Tevez.
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