Without Walker, questions were raised, but Grealish ended his personal drought. Manchester City had no trouble beating fourth-tier side Salford City and advancing to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
ManCity coach Pep Guardiola made nine changes to the team that beat West Ham 4-1 in the league last weekend, with only Aké and Savinho starting. The Spaniard had completely dispensed with Walker, whose absence was not due to injury. According to Guardiola, the captain, who is currently being linked to a move to Saudi Arabia, recently asked for the opportunity to leave the club.
Youngster Mubama scores on debut
Against the fourth division side from Salford, the Skyblues were clearly focused on rotation, although this should not necessarily be noticeable on the field. After just eight minutes, Doku opened the scoring by sinking the ball into the goal after a counterattack with the help of the inside post.
The visitors defended against further goals at the Etihad Stadium, but soon had to accept the 0-2. The 20-year-old debutant Mubama pushed the ball over the line after Matheus Nunes’ cross. It was the first goal in the first game for the young center forward.
Mubama was not the only youngster hungry for goals that evening. Before half-time, O’Reilly, who is a year younger, made the 3-0 from ManCity’s point of view after preliminary work by Doku (43rd) and thus ensured the half-time result.
Grealish celebrates after a long dry spell – McAtee with a three-pack
Anyone who had expected the home side to be more passive and less offensive after the break quickly saw themselves mistaken. Just four minutes after the restart, Grealish converted a penalty he took out himself – the 29-year-old’s first goal since December 16, 2023 (2-2 against Crystal Palace).
The rest of the game, meanwhile, was dominated by Doku and McAtee, who did not want to spare Salford any further goals in the last 30 minutes either. While Doku scored his brace (69th minute), home-grown McAtee also turned on the style. The Salford-born midfielder sealed the 8-0 win with a hat-trick (62′, 72′, 81′).
The Skyblues will certainly know how to properly categorize this clear home win, and the Premier League continues as early as Tuesday. After two league wins in a row, ManCity will be guests at Brentford (8:30 p.m.) – possibly again without captain Walker.
