Riyad Mahrez was delighted to see Manchester City end their recent FA Cup semi-final hoodoo and book a spot in the Wembley showpiece.
Pep Guardiola's side swatted aside Championship club Sheffield United on Sunday with Mahrez netting a hat-trick in a 3-0 win. His first came from the penalty spot before he added a solo second and a sweeping third to secure a final date with either Manchester United or Brighton.
The victory keeps alive City's hopes of a treble with Guardiola's men facing Arsenal in a crunch Premier League clash on Wednesday night as they seek to chase down the long-term leaders. City are also into the final four of the Champions League where they face Real Madrid, who eliminated them at the same stage last season with a remarkable late turnaround.
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But City rectified semi-final pain in one competition with the win over the Blades and will be confident of doing the same to Carlo Ancelotti's side next month. Guardiola's men had lost their previous three FA Cup last-four games, to Liverpool Chelsea and Arsenal, but from the moment Mahrez converted from the spot late in the first half their progress to the final this season seemed certain. And it was a result which meant a great deal to the hat-trick hero and the City camp.
"The most important thing is that after three years in a row where we came here in the semi-final, we always lost and didn't really play good, and today we all really wanted to make sure that we put in a good performance and go to the final," Mahrez told ITV.
"I think it is a collective performance, it was very good. We took the game really seriously. I think we had a good game and we are happy to go to the final of the FA Cup. It means a lot, every season that we start with the team we have and the coach and the staff we have, we want to go as far as we can in every competition."
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