FA Cup 2024-25: Manchester City thrashes Salford 8-0 to reach fourth round

FA Cup 2024-25: Manchester City thrashes Salford 8-0 to reach fourth round

Manchester City’s FA Cup fortunes were unaffected by its tumultous Premier League form as it thrashed fourth-tier Salford City 8-0 at home in the third round on Saturday.

A much-changed City side was dominant with Divin Mubama marking his senior debut with a goal, Jack Grealish ending a year-long goal drought with a penalty and James McAtee bagging a second-half hat-trick.

Mubama doubled City’s lead with a tap-in after Jeremy Doku had given the host the lead in the eighth minute and City was out of sight when Nico O’Reilly scored before half-time.

Grealish got in on the act when he earned and then converted a penalty in the 49th minute before McAtee scored three times inside 20 minutes and Doku slotted home a penalty.

Salford is co-owned by Manchester United teammates Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Phil Neville, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and David Beckham, but while it has made great strides and is pushing for promotion from League Two, it was given a 90-minute football clinic by a slick City.

“Man City and Pep have never disrespected anybody and tonight they showed us why they are what they are and why he is who he is,” Salford boss Karl Robinson said.

His side had conceded no goals in its last six games but City proved a much tougher hurdle as Butt and Scholes watched on from the director’s box and Giggs from the technical area in his role as the club’s football director.

“I have told the players if someone had told me we would concede eight goals in seven games I would have taken it,” Robinson joked. “I just didn’t expect it to be all in one match.”

City manager Pep Guardiola made nine changes to the line-up that beat West Ham United last weekend but his big guns were all stacked on the bench in case of an emergency.

That never looked like materialising once a counter-attack in the eighth minute saw Matheus Nunes drive forward and pass to Grealish who in turn played in the over-lapping Doku to send a left-foot shot in off the post.

Mubama made it 2-0 with a tap-in from a Nunes pass and it was game up for Salford just before the interval when O’Reilly controlled a Doku pass to steer home a shot for his first goal for the club.

Grealish scored his first goal since December 16, 2023 when he was hacked down in the area just after halftime and got up to convert the penalty.

The excellent Doku set up McAtee for his first goal just past the hour and the Belgian converted a spot kick before being substituted. McAtee then put the icing on the cake with two more well-taken goals.