Manchester City's treble dream remains intact, thanks to a deflected Doku strike off the unfortunate Bree, who presumably didn't intend to become a City cult hero. The goal, a low drive that wrong-footed the keeper, came after Saints only half-cleared a corner - because why do a job properly when you can do it stylishly?
Earlier, Southampton took the lead out of absolutely nowhere with an Azaz pearler that curved into the top right from 25 yards. Trafford, fully extended, had no chance, which is the polite way of saying he watched it sail past like a spectator. The move began on the halfway line, with Jander stripping Cherki of possession before feeding Matsuki, who shuttled the ball to Azaz. The rest, as they say, is elegant history.
The match featured non-stop action, but BBC cameras caught punters in the stands fast asleep - both City and Saints fans. This has led to the conclusion that the ABV% of Wembley beer is at turps-level. Sláinte, everyone!
City improved in the second half, with Doku and Savinho injecting pace. Reijnders nearly scored a fine goal from 25 yards, whipping a violent curler just wide. Peretz parried well on multiple occasions, including a Gonzalez lash and a Savinho low curler. City claimed for a penalty when the ball ponged off Charles's arm, but it was tucked away, so no dice. Reijnders then shot wide from the penalty spot with Peretz beaten, which is the kind of miss that keeps managers awake at night.
Saints made changes, replacing Stewart and Bragg with Larin and quarter-final hero Charles. City brought on O'Reilly, who scored twice in the League Cup final against Arsenal, and Haaland, who, well, y'know. Welington was run ragged by Reijnders, Foden, and Savinho but never found wanting until he ran out of energy and was replaced by Matsuki.
The half-time show starred Jim McCalliog, whose goal proved the winner in 1967. He was making his Scotland debut as a 21-year-old that day, though he'd already scored at Wembley as part of the Sheffield Wednesday team that lost the FA Cup final from two goals up a year earlier. In the interests of balance, what happened to Scotland after McCalliog's goal is covered by the first two harrowing paragraphs of this. Oh Scotland!