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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
George Flood

Man City to face Watford in the FA Cup final at Wembley on May 18

Manchester City and Watford will go head-to-head in the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on May 18.

After City had overcome a resilient Brighton side with a narrow 1-0 triumph in Saturday's first semi-final, 24 hours later Javi Gracia's men came from two goals down to beat Wolves 3-2 in a thrilling extra-time clash.

Goals from Matt Doherty and Raul Jimenez had put Wolves in control before a stunner from Gerard Deulofeu and a stoppage-time penalty from Troy Deeney necessitated an extra 30 minutes.

And Deulofeu coolly found the far corner in the 104th minute to complete a sensational turnaround and book Watford's place in the final for the first time since 1984.

Pep Guardiola's City sealed their own progress on Saturday and kept their hopes of securing an unprecedented quadruple alive with a slender win over Brighton.

Gabriel Jesus - continuing to start in the absence of Sergio Aguero - stooped to nod home Kevin De Bruyne's cross in the fourth minute and that proved to be the only goal of the afternoon.

Winners of the competition in 1904, 1934, 1956, 1969 and 2011, City, who have already lifted the EFL Cup this term, will appear in their first FA Cup final since 2013, when they were on the end of a famous upset by Wigan Athletic.

It also gives Guardiola the chance to end his FA Cup hoodoo, with it being the only competition he has entered and not won as a manager.

Pep Guardiola celebrates with his Manchester City players after the win over Brighton (Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine)

Watford, who beat Newcastle and Crystal Palace en route to the final at Wembley, will qualify for the Europa League if they beat the defending top-flight champions.

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