Five Things Learned: Manchester City 2-0 Salford City (FA Cup Fourth Round) | OneFootball

Manchester City dispatched a spirited Salford City side at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Arriving in good form, Pep Guardiola’s changed side were full of confidence. Having beaten the League Two outfit at the same ground in the same competition by a scoreline of 8-0 last season, City wasted no time getting off the mark once more.

After just six minutes, an opener was scored by Salford defender Alfie Dorrington into his own net via a deflection following Rayan Ait-Nouri’s cross.

Omar Marmoush thought he had doubled City’s lead with a wonderful angled finish into the top corner but the linesman had his offside flag up with a dubious call to disallow it.

Following the break, Salford remained resolute and sturdy, continuing to frustrate City as they searched for a second. Pep Guardiola’s men finally doubled their lead with less than 10 minutes to go as Marc Guehi fired into an empty net to score his first goal for the club and wrap up the win.

Here are the five things we learned from Manchester City’s FA Cup fourth round triumph:

1. Up for the cup

Prior to the game, Pep Guardiola remarked in his press conference about how much he loves the FA Cup. This quickly became apparent on the pitch on Saturday afternoon as Manchester City stormed into an early lead.

Some managers have not given the oldest football competition in the world the respect it deserves, playing severely weakened teams, but this is rarely the case with Guardiola.

It is a tournament he admires and given his strong XI against Salford City, it shows that the Catalan and his players are well and truly up for the cup once more.

2. First goal for Marc Guehi

Manchester City’s January transfer business was excellent, bringing in two experienced players for the Premier League with bags of quality.

Much of the talk since has been about Antoine Semenyo and rightly so, with an impressive five goals and two assists already in sky blue. However, Marc Guehi has looked resolute in defence since arriving from Crystal Palace, impressing in every game he has played.

Being unlucky to have an own goal attributed to him in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham earlier this month, it was wonderful to see him score in the right end on Saturday for a maiden City goal. The goal, albeit into an empty net from close range, was taken well and most importantly wrapped up the win over a battling Salford City and ensured safe passage into the next round.

3. Another refereeing blunder

It was announced in the week that Rodri was charged over his “not fair” comments regarding the poor refereeing decisions in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham in north London on February 1.

The Ballon d’Or winner may not be allowed to have an opinion publicly but I can – and Saturday’s FA Cup match had yet another blunder from the officials. Marmoush scored a perfectly good goal with a sumptuous finish but this was disallowed for being offside – something it was not.

Of course, no VAR was used in the game but the mistake is just the latest in a long line of high-profile errors against City this season in particular.

Whether it be the Newcastle United away games this season in both the Premier League and the Carabao Cup, or the Spurs tie Rodri mentioned, the Blues have been on the wrong end of decisions far too often this campaign.

Saturday’s error didn’t prove costly in the end but with City’s lead only at one goal for the majority of the game, the decision could have had an unfair impact on the hosts once more.

4. Fighting on all fronts

Another win for Manchester City is always good news but even victories can bring further issues later down the line.

In each of the past three seasons, Pep Guardiola’s side have reached the FA Cup final but lost in the most recent two. Six games for no reward is a lot of extra minutes and potential injuries, which could prove pivotal in what is shaping up to be a tight and exhilarating Premier League title race.

With City still fighting on all four fronts, having secured their place in the FA Cup fifth round, some fans will be cautious of fixture congestion, especially given the number of players sidelined at different points throughout this season. If Guardiola and co are heading to Wembley for a fourth straight year, they’d better make it count.

5. Unlucky Max Alleyne

Having already mentioned injuries in my previous point, you have to feel for young Max Alleyne. The defender, who was recalled in January midway through a loan spell at Watford amid a defensive injury crisis at his parent club, was forced off early on against Salford City through an injury of his own.

Alleyne had come into City and looked settled alongside his star-studded teammates, even notching his first goal in sky blue in the previous FA Cup round.

However, a nervous performance from the 20-year-old away at Bodo/Glimt in Norway in the UEFA Champions league group-stage saw a couple of mistakes lead to a poor 3-1 loss. Being afforded another chance in the starting line-up against easier opponents looked like the perfect opportunity to build confidence once more – but alas, the centre-back was forced off.

Hopefully, Alleyne is not out for too long with his ailment and can make a swift return to the squad, as with the multitude of games coming up, City need all hands on deck.