They were made to work hard for it but Manchester City are into the FA Cup quarter-finals after beating Bristol City 3-0 at a packed out Ashton Gate.
The two sides previously met in the Carabao Cup semi-finals in 2018, with Pep Guardiola's side winning 5-3 over two legs, and the Robins proved stiff opposition once again for the reigning Premier League champions.
Having already taken the scalps of Arsenal and Chelsea to reach this stage, Man City had to be careful they weren’t walking onto a proverbial banana skin in Bristol City tonight. The Championship outfit, while dominated for much of proceedings, never gave up, even after going behind early.
The tie started at a frenetic pace and the reigning Premier League champions showed just how dangerous they can be when Kalvin Phillips hit the crossbar from 25 yards out inside the first minute.
It was always going to be tough task for Nigel Pearson’s side against the five-time winners of the competition and they were dealt the worst possible start when visitors took the lead in the sixth minute through Phil Foden. Riyad Mahrez, who Pearson once signed for Leicester City, snuck in on the right flank and found the England international waiting at the back post for an easy tap in.
✅ Early goal tonight
Phil Foden is finding some form for Manchester City 😎
@EmiratesFACup | @ManCity
The Robins thought they’d won a penalty soon after going behind when Mark Sykes went down in the box under pressure from Rico Lewis but referee Andre Marriner waved off the appeals.
After huffing and puffing, Man City finally doubled their lead with 15 minutes to go and Foden was instrumental once again after being teed up by Julian Alvarez. The 22-year-old’s strike was going well wide until it took an unfortunate deflection off of Zak Vyner and past a helpless Max O’Leary.
Kevin De Bruyne wrapped up the win for the FA Cup favourites after being set up by substitute Jack Grealish, curling in a sumptuous effort from distance into the bottom corner.
Bristol City’s work rate was utterly immense tonight. Man City had enough chances to put the game away much earlier than they did, but the hosts, backed by some thunderous support from the Ashton Gate faithful, were incredible in keeping their opponents quiet for as long as they did.
Alex Scott in particular was impressive. The 19-year-old midfielder will no doubt have plenty of top-flight suitors in the near future.
Elsewhere in the FA Cup, the biggest upset of the night came at the King Power Stadium as Championship Blackburn Rovers beat Premier League Leicester City 2-1, heaping more misery on Brendan Rodgers and the 2021 FA Cup winners.
Rovers took a 2-0 lead courtesy of goals from Tyrhys Dolan and Sammie Szmodics before cup specialist Kelechi Ihaenacho pulled one back for the Foxes.
Brighton & Hove Albion reached their second FA Cup quarter-final since 2019 with a 1-0 win over Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium. A first-half strike from Evan Ferguson was enough to settle the tie for the Seagulls.
Two sensational goals either side of half-time helped see Fulham through to the next round as beat Leeds United 2-0. Paulinha scored from a sublime 30 yard strike before Manor Solomon got in on the act with a curling effort from 18 yards out for his fourth goal in four consecutive games.
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