Match Report & Player Ratings: Manchester City 2-0 Salford City (FA Cup Fourth Round) | OneFootball

Manchester City progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup by running out 2-0 winners against Salford City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The first-half was far from the one-way traffic many would have expected, with Manchester City striking through an Alfie Dorrington own goal but failing to add further to their advantage – albeit partly down to some poor refereeing decisions.

It remained a slog for Pep Guardiola’s team in the second period though, and it took them until the closing stages to wrap up the victory thanks to Marc Guehi’s first Manchester City goal.

Given the eight strikes City racked up in this fixture last season and the ten they hit in the last round of the cup against Exeter City, the Etihad faithful would have been hoping for another glut of goals here.

The hosts looked in the mood early on – with their first meaningful attack, Tijjani Reijnders fed Rayan Ait-Nouri on the left wing, and the defender’s wicked delivery forced Dorrington to turn into his own net with Omar Marmoush lurking close behind.

The opening stages were a drab affair in truth, although Salford thought they had an opening to draw level after 20 minutes when John Stones’ miscued clearance was seized upon, only for Josh Austerfield to miscue and air-kick when under pressure from Max Alleyne, with the follow-through onto the City man causing an injury which forced the 20-year-old off.

Immediately afterwards it ought to have been two for the Blues, as Abdukodir Khusanov played Marmoush in behind for a terrific finish into the top corner, but with no VAR present the linesman’s incorrect call of offside was allowed to stand, drawing ire towards the officials from Guardiola.

City renewed their hunt for a second goal with Marmoush twice going in behind and narrowly being denied by Matthew Young in the Salford goal, before the hosts were again left questioning some debatable officiating as John Stones appeared to be pulled down in the box without receiving a penalty.

No goal was forthcoming for the Blues just yet though, so James Trafford had to be alert to maintain the slim advantage when Ben Woodburn volleyed towards his top corner, the City keeper flinging himself across to tip it over.

And on the stroke of half-time the visitors should have had an equaliser, as defender Brandon Cooper snuck in at the back post on a corner but couldn’t put his header on target.

City regrouped and began to reapply the pressure at the start of the second-half; Phil Foden saw a goal-bound effort blocked in the early exchanges, and substitute Ryan McAidoo drew a sharp save from Young at his near post.

But it just wasn’t happening for the Premier League side, and Salford again threatened an equaliser on the hour as Kelly N’Mai smuggled through near the right touch-line and blasted for Trafford’s near post, forcing another save from the cup keeper.

City got their second at long last though, Rayan Cherki profiting from a quick free-kick to put a cross into a dangerous area, with Young only able to parry right into the path of Guehi to happily snaffle in his first for the club.

That seemed to free up the Blues to try and rack up a few more efforts, Antoine Semenyo going close as he latched onto a searing Cherki through-ball and unluckily saw his effort rebound off the post.

No further goals were added though, so it ended up an uninspiring but eventually successful progression through to the fifth round of the FA Cup for Manchester City. Here’s how we rated the players in the Blues’ victory over Salford City:

Starting XI

James Trafford – 7.5

Wouldn’t have foreseen being as busy as he was, but remained dialled in to repel the visitors when necessary, including one standout save from Woodburn.

Max Alleyne – 6

Fairly involved in the early stages, but a really unfortunate injury cruelly cut his afternoon short. Hopefully it’s not a serious issue for the academy graduate.

Abdukodir Khusanov – 7

Sprayed the ball around well at times. Given more of a defensive test than would have been expected with N’Mai’s speed and Ryan Graydon’s physicality.

John Stones – 6.5

Made a few defensive contributions on his return to the team. Hasn’t played since November though, and that rustiness showed in some of his ball-playing.

Rayan Ait-Nouri – 7

Perhaps a testament to City’s struggles that the left-back was one of their biggest threats in the first-half. Offered good width and forced the opener, although started to become a little sloppier in his play before coming off.

Nico Gonzalez – 6.5

Advanced the ball through the lines to get City on the attack. Didn’t have quite the same influence on things when moves reached the final third.

Rico Lewis – 7

Kept the ball moving, both from his initial role in the centre of midfield and when roaming from right-back after Alleyne’s injury.

Tijjani Reijnders – 6

Buzzed around trying to make inroads in behind, and took opportunities to shoot whenever they arose. Struggled to make any telling difference though.

Phil Foden – 6

Tried to act the senior figure he is in the team, moving around attempting to link play. Rarely managed to carve out anything though.

Rayan Cherki – 7.5 (POTM)

Ran the City attack (such as it was), and looked the only one capable of regularly threatening to produce chances. Helped force through the second goal.

Omar Marmoush – 6.5

Always tried making moves, but wasn’t often found and was rarely effective when coming short. Incorrectly denied a smashing goal.

Substitutes

Ryan McAidoo – 6.5

Saw a fair amount of the ball but had mixed success in going at his man.

Marc Guehi – 7

Opportunistically got on the scoresheet.

Nico O’Reilly – 6.5

Tried to cause problems with his movement.

Antoine Semenyo – 6.5

Wasn’t afraid to try things.

Rodri – N/A