Match report and topics from the defeat in the FA Cup

Manchester City progressed into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a calm and confident victory over promotion hopefuls Salford City in League Two.

The Premier League champions have been in a slump for the first time under Pep Guardiola, seemingly falling out of the title race for the first time in what seems like forever.

So their stunning 8-0 thrashing of Salford, owned by Manchester United legends Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes among others, was another welcome step on the road to recovery – City’s win not in doubt after Jeremy Doku opened the scoring after just four minutes.

How the match unfolded

There was a fair amount of head-scratching when Guardiola announced his much-changed starting line-up, with the younger Jahmai Simpson-Pusey – who astonishingly hadn’t won a game in City colors in his previous five appearances – and Nathan Ake the only two recognized defenders on the pitch.

But modern football has evolved into patterns of play, organized and intense pressures and fluidity of movement – something that has made it possible Cityplenty of midfielders and forwards to do their thing when given the chance.

It didn’t take long for Matheus Nunes to take the ball away from Salford in the center of midfield, moving forward towards their defence. His simple pass to Jack Grealish created an overload on the left flank and Belgian winger Doku was on hand to fire into the bottom corner despite the efforts of young Salford keeper Matthew Young.

After 20 minutes on the scoreboard, the game was over. Savinho picked up the ball on the right before heading towards the Salford penalty area. His lovely pass from behind found the onrushing Nunes, who turned it across the box for former West Ham academy striker Divina Mubama for his first goal for City.

Kylian Kouassi’s swerving run briefly threatened a top goal for Salford, but after his effort was easily saved by Ederson, City rallied to grab a third before half-time. This time it was Nico O’Reilly’s turn to score his first goal for the club, slotting the ball into the bottom right corner after good work from Doku down the left.

Ake was replaced by Manuel Akanji at half-time as Guardiola looked to relieve the workload on his defenders, both of whom have recently been injured, and the Spaniard was given further reason to smile when Grealish was dragged into the area.

The playmaker, without a goal this season, made it 4-0 early in the game by sending Young the wrong way.

James McAtee, regular guest transfer gossip column of late, he made it five just after the hour mark, slotting home from close range after more great work on the Doku wing.

The latter made it six, converting a penalty after Curtis Tilt was passed in the zone, before McAtee took up the mantle again to score a try and conversion. He added an eighth before the end of the game, taking his career tally for City from two to five in the space of 90 minutes.

Check out the player ratings for Man City vs Salford here.

It’s fair to say that Jeremy Doku is either electrifying on the wing or completely anonymous. On this occasion, the Belgian was absolutely sensational.

Yes, he was coming up against League Two opposition, but this performance will serve as a huge confidence booster as City look to get their Premier League and Champions League campaigns back on track.

Doku’s movement was overwhelming, on either flank, and his bursts of speed were too much for Salford’s overwhelmed defence. Two goals and two assists was a good result in the 74 minutes he played, more than making him Guardiola’s first-choice left winger.

Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly have all been in and around City’s first team for some time but haven’t really been able to show their ability.

Divin Mubama has also rarely had a shot in attack, with Erling Haaland seemingly happy to take on the heavy lifting in attack if that’s what Pep Guardiola is looking for.

There is no doubt about this evidence that City’s academy is doing exactly what it needs to do. All four players showed confidence, with McAtee and O’Reilly in particular shining, and Guardiola may realize he may not need to burden his aging, injury-prone players with as much playing time as he does.

McAtee certainly looks ready to compete at a high level – whether or not he leaves the Etihad to do so remains to be seen – and his hat-trick will be noticed by interested parties.

“As much as he looks at himself, he will see the competition and that he has to compete, himself. Savinho is in better shape and everything than Jack and that’s why I played Savinho.

“Do I want a Treble-winning Jack? Yes, I do. But I’m trying to be honest with myself about it. You can say it’s unfair. If you think so, then that’s fine. But you have to prove it and say, ‘OK, I’ll fight with Savinho that I deserve to play in that position every day, every week and every month’.”

These were the words of Pep Guardiola after City’s 4-1 Premier League win over West Ham United – a clear message to Jack Grealish that he needs to step things up to earn a regular place in the side.

Late afternoon outings against Salford won’t convince Guardiola that Grealish has turned the corner yet, but he certainly looked comfortable working in the central area. The Englishman can usually be found operating on the flanks, but Doku is likely to feature on the left side for some time, opposite the aforementioned Savinho.

Grealish has the guile, touch and ability to play as a number 10 for City and has done a more than adequate job here. Four chances created, two assists and a penalty won? Only FA Cup ordered.

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