Manchester City progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup with an unconvincing 2-0 victory over League Two side Salford.
Josep Guardiola’s side beat their neighbors 8-0 last season, but needed an early Alfie Dorrington own goal and a late Marc Gehi goal to win the game at the Etihad Stadium.
But City, who made nine changes, didn’t need to be close to their best.
An unfortunate intervention by Dorrington in the 6th minute greatly diminished the intensity of the game, and City were effective from then on.
This gave Salford some composure and former Liverpool midfielder Ben Woodburn forced a fine save from James Trafford before the interval.
But City have always been able to keep the Amies, co-owned by former Manchester United players Gary Neville and David Beckham, at arm’s length.
Guehi came on from the bench and with nine minutes left he dived in from a rebound to score his first goal for the club, ending any chances of a Salford shock. Another substitute, Antoine Semenyo, also hit the post just before the end.
City got the job done but Salford showed improvement
Salford performed much better than they did last season when they lost 8-0 to Man City in the FA Cup.
Analysis from Sky Sports’ Peter Stevenson:
“Manchester City, under Guardiola, face an even bigger challenge as they aim for four trophies.
“But it was a tricky afternoon, no doubt about it. Salford next face Newport in their bid for promotion to League Two and Karl Robinson’s side will be heartbroken to see how they have responded.”
“After losing 8-0 13 months ago, losing 2-0 is an amazing improvement.”
Guardiola laments City are ‘flat’
Josep Guardiola described the team’s performance as “flat and slow”
Manchester City manager Josep Guardiola:
“We didn’t read the space they were in. As for the space on attack, it depends on how they defend it, but we didn’t read it.”
“That’s why the game was boring. The only good news is that we won and that’s it.
“I would like to say that the last couple of weeks have been tough for a variety of reasons, mentally drained, tired, etc.
“But that’s what we do. The calendar says to play every few days.
“I couldn’t read where the spaces were at all, everything was flat and slow, which wasn’t good.”
Merson: ‘Salford will be promoted if they continue at this level’
Salford put in a much improved performance compared to last season, when they lost 8-0 at the Etihad.
Paul Merson said on Soccer Saturday:
“Apart from the last 10 minutes when City brought in the big boys and they were tired, up to that point it all says what they had to do to bring in the players.
“They were really good. If they can perform like that in the remaining games in League Two, I’m sure they can get promoted.”
“Everyone played well. None of them had nightmares. Last year they lost eight games, and if they can get through with just two games this year, they’ll be in a great position.”
