City seal place in FA Cup fifth round with Salford victory

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Manchester City F.C.

·14 de fevereiro de 2026

City seal place in FA Cup fifth round with Salford victory

City moved through to the fifth round of this season’s FA Cup thanks to a 2-0 victory over League Two Salford City at the Etihad Stadium.

Men's Team

Vídeos OneFootball

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An Alfie Dorrington own goal gave City an early lead and it looked as though a comfortable afternoon lay ahead.

But a somewhat disjointed performance saw City struggle to kill the game off, until Marc Guéhi’s late strike - his first goal for the club - sealed an unconvincing win for the Blues.

The result means City, seven-time winners of this competition, are a step closer to a fourth-consecutive FA Cup final appearance and remain in the hunt for four major trophies this season.

THE GAME IN 250 WORDS

City started the game brightly and deservedly got an early breakthrough when Rayan Ait-Nouri’s attempted cross from the left deflected off Salford defender Alfie Dorrington and past ‘keeper Matthew Young.

Omar Marmoush’s powerful volley into the top corner was wrongly ruled out for offside. Replays showed he was played onside but with no VAR to overrule the on-field decision, the Egyptian was denied what would have been a memorable strike.

City were dominating possession, but with nine changes to the starting lineup, we lacked our usual fluency and intensity and towards the end of the first half, Salford had chances to equalise.

Firstly, Ben Woodburn’s half-volley was tipped over the bar by James Trafford moments before half-time - a fantastic save that further underlines his credentials as a top-class goalkeeper.

And seconds before the break, Brandon Cooper perhaps should have equalised after poor marking from a corner saw the Salford centre-back free at the backpost, but he placed his header wide of the post.

City’s performance remained somewhat flat after half time and Trafford made another good save, this time denying Dutchman Kelly N’Mai with his chest.

With City in need of some inspiration, Pep Guardiola made a trio of substitutions on 65 minutes – bringing on Marc Guéhi, Antoine Semenyo and Nico O’Reilly.

Their impact was immediate. City suddenly looked more vibrant, and with nine minutes left, our lead was doubled when Guéhi tapped home on the rebound after Young had palmed away Rayan Cherki’s driven cross.

Antoine Semenyo almost made it 3-0 but he saw his shot hit the inside of the post and come back out.

It wasn’t a vintage City performance, but we are into Monday’s fifth round draw as we continue our bid to win the FA Cup for the eighth time in our history.

Player of the Match

Abdukodir Khusanov continues to go from strength to strength.

Pace, power and a fearlessness few in the game can match, he is becoming a real asset to Manchester City.

An honourable mention, too, for James Trafford. He didn’t have a lot to do, but when he was called upon he made some vital saves.

TEAMS

CITY XI: Trafford, Alleyne (McAidoo 22’), Khusanov, Stones (C) (Guéhi 65’), Ait-Nouri (O’Reilly 65’), Nico (Rodri 75’), Lewis, Reijnders, Foden (Semenyo 65’), Cherki, Marmoush

Unused subs: Donnarumma, Dias, Nunes, F. Samba

SALFORD XI: Young, Awe, Dorrington, Garbutt (C), Longelo, Cooper, Austerfield, Grant (Ashley 70’), N’Mai (Udoh 70’), Woodburn, Graydon

Unused subs: Howard, Turton, Stockton, Borini, Butcher, Ehibhatiomhan, Siri

Attendance: 46,774

Guardiola VERDICT

“After 2-0. We didn’t read the spaces where they were. Always the spaces we attack depends on where the defend.

“We spent a little time to make the process quicker. The only good news is we are through.

“It would be nice to say we’re exhausted but this is our job and we have to do what we have to do.

“We didn’t read the spaces, everything was flat and slow and it was not good.”

James Trafford REACTION

“We had to work really hard. They did really well. They defended really well and they had belief that grew through the game. We got there in the end and got a good win.

“It’s one of them, it’s a knockout competition. We won and we have a week until the next game. We have to keep going.

“I knew I wasn’t going to have too much to do but, when I was called upon, I had to do well.”