Bernardo Silva led Manchester City back to the FA Cup final with a 1-0 win over Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, with the Portuguese midfielder sealing victory with a late strike. Pep Guardiola’s side were second best for long periods of the semi-final, but Chelsea wasted a series of chances before Silva struck the finishing blow with six minutes left. It took Manchester City a while to shake off the haze that followed the end of their treble race after losing to Real Madrid in a penalty shootout in the Champions League quarter-finals in midweek.

They are hampered by the absence of Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who suffered an injury against Real Madrid, and Julian Alvarez’s inability to function as his replacement.

Manchester City were bailed out by Chelsea’s profligate striker Nicholas Jackson, with Guardiola hoping the hard-earned win would provide a timely boost in their pursuit of a Premier League and FA Cup double.

City will face either Manchester United or Coventry on Sunday in the final on May 25 and will retain the Premier League title if they win their last six games.

This will be City’s 13th final in the competition and could lead to a repeat of last year’s 2-1 win over Manchester United in the Manchester derby at Wembley.

Chelsea, who were beaten by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final in February, still have a season left to wait to win their first domestic trophy since the 2018 FA Cup.

It’s a big blow for Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino, who has endured a difficult first season in charge and still hasn’t won any trophies in England.

The semi-final was seen as a chance for in-form Chelsea striker Cole Palmer to punish his old club for selling him to the Blues in September.

Guardiola said Palmer asked to leave Manchester City for two years before eventually joining Chelsea, where he has scored 23 goals in all competitions, including 11 in the last six games.

Palmer, who scored four goals in Monday’s 6-0 win over Everton, was a constant threat for Chelsea but his side’s lack of killer instinct ultimately proved decisive.

Guardiola comes to the rescue

Palmer’s pinpoint pass set up an early charge for Jackson but his shot wasn’t accurate enough to beat Stefan Ortega and the error spelled Chelsea’s fate.

Jackson squandered a golden opportunity to give Chelsea the dominance they deserved.

Enzo Fernandez’s pass broke the City defense but Jackson chose to round Ortega rather than shoot, and the chance was gone as Nathan Ake scurried back to clear.

Compared with Manchester City, Pochettino’s team played with more purpose and quality. Palmer cleverly passed Rodri and fired a low shot from 12 yards, but Ortega saved it.

It was the first time since February’s game against Everton that a sleepy City failed to have a shot on target in the first half.

Jackson had a poor first season and was scored by Connor Gallagher immediately after the break.

But the much-maligned striker’s shot was blocked by Ortega, who denied Jackson’s close-range header seconds later.

City eventually tested Djordje Petrovich through Phil Foden’s quick shot, but the Serbian fended off his powerful effort.

Chelsea appealed in vain for a penalty when Jack Grealish’s arm blocked Palmer’s free-kick, while Moises Caicedo was lucky to escape a second yellow card as his tackle forced Grealish limped off.

Grealish’s substitute Jeremy Doku had a shot at the near post that was immediately saved by Petrovic.

Doku’s presence lifted City’s spirits and the Belgian played an important role in stealing victory in the 84th minute.

Doku intentionally advanced towards the Chelsea penalty area and passed the ball to Kevin De Bruyne. De Bruyne’s low pass was pushed to Silva by Petrovic and shot from close range. The ball missed the goal. Diora made a clearance in the air.

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