Manchester City eased into the fourth round of the FA Cup after an 8-0 win over Salford City in League Two on Saturday.
Salford-born James McAtee scored a second-half hat-trick in a memorable night for the youngster as Pep Guardiola’s side avoided a major setback at the Etihad.
Strikes from Jeremy Doku and Nic O’Reilly either side of Divino Mubama’s debut goal put City in a dominant position in the first half, while penalties from Jack Grealish and the excellent Doku after the break, as well as McAtee’s goals, completed the rout.
The game was given an extra level of spice by the fact that members of Manchester United’s ‘Class of ’92’ are co-owners of the fourth division club. But there was no memorable win for the visitors as City dominated proceedings from the outset.
The eye-catching result will be a welcome confidence boost for Guardiola and his side, who have made a promising start to 2025 with three straight wins.
FULL TIME | In a hat 🎩
🩵 8-0 🔴 #ManCity | @okx pic.twitter.com/uVvzcCGHIs
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 11, 2025
How the plot unfolded
It took less than eight minutes for City to take the lead. Salford lost the ball in the middle of the field, Matheus Nunes crossed to Jack Grealish who again played past Doku who finished in the far corner of the net.
The five or so thousand traveling fans remained in good spirits despite their team falling behind early and only having 18% possession in the first quarter of an hour.
Kylian Kouassi then cleared the ball after Jahmai Simpson-Pusey missed Nathan Ake’s header on the line.
Five minutes later, City doubled their lead when 20-year-old debutant Mubama finished off a clever move by the hosts.
Savinho’s pass found Nunes who was underneath it and he passed the ball to Mubama for the pass.
A special moment for Divina Mubama as he marks his debut for Man City with a goal! 🩵#MCISAL #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/K8mi3ITW4c
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 11, 2025
Kouassi then saved Ederson after a crazy run, but it was the Premier League champions who were in control.
The young Salford forward was at the heart of the action again when a neat move culminated in a ball into the box that the 21-year-old should have done better with.
The blunder proved costly in the end. Moments later City extended their lead to three when the excellent Doku beat his own man before turning it back to O’Reilly, who fired the ball home confidently.
Two minutes from the restart, Salford were the architects of their own downfall when captain Curtis Tilt flicked the ball low and Mubama chipped the ball back to Grealish.
But before the England international could take a shot, he was brought down by Ossama Ashley. Grealish recovered his composure and took the ensuing kick for his first of the season and City’s fourth.
McAtee then made it five shortly after the hour mark, finishing well after Doku’s pinpoint cross. Doku then helped himself to a second when he pulled away after the ball was adjudged to have hit Tilt’s arm.
Neat finish by James McAtee 👌#MCISAL #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/LnNwiBDhBC
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 11, 2025
McAtee added another goal after a lovely pass from Phil Foden before completing his hat-trick to heap more misery on the League Two side.
Salford had several half-chances and gave 16-year-old Will Wright a five-minute runout. But City saw the rest of the competition largely without problems.
