Manchester City advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a victory over Salford City, but Mansfield Town shocked Burnley in the Premier League.
Manchester City had enough to see off Salford City (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt/Getty Images)
League Two side Salford City put in a good performance against Manchester City, but the Premier League giants proved too strong as they advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win.
Salford must have feared the worst when Alfie Dorrington’s own goal put Josep Guardiola’s side ahead six minutes later. City’s 10-1 defeat of Exeter City in the previous match immediately came to mind, but Salford remained undisturbed.
Karl Robinson’s side regained their composure and showed their strength despite City’s overwhelming dominance with 80 per cent possession. Erling Haaland was given time off by Guardiola and was in the stands at the Etihad watching City’s second team play.
However, despite the addition of Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Tijani Lijnders and Omar Marmouche in attack, City were not able to double their lead until the 81st minute. At that time, substitute Marc Guehi, who had joined from Crystal Palace in January, scored his first goal for the club.
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Guehi was called up from the bench alongside Antoine Semenyo, Rodri and Nico O’Reilly, highlighting the disparity in resources between the two teams. Salford finished the game with a brilliant performance and will now have their sights set on promotion from League Two, where they sit in sixth place.
Former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Well done for Salford to get to this stage.” “This draw was testing, but Robinson will have learned a lot about the players. It was a difficult start, but they will grow from it. It was a good day for the fans.”
Guardiola told the BBC: “Their defense was very good, very tight and we couldn’t attack the spaces as much as we wanted. The game was flat until they scored the second goal. The game wasn’t good until it was 2-0. You can win 1-0 and still play well. Sometimes you can win 3-0, but sometimes the game is not good.”
The banana peel of the FA Cup was on display at Turf Moor as they came from behind to beat Burnley 2-1. Scott Parker made nine changes to his starting XI after a morale-boosting 3-2 win against Crystal Palace, but it proved costly as League One side Mansfield claimed a Premier League scalp, prompting boos from the home side.
Nigel Clough shocked Mansfield at Burnley (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
Josh Laurent put Burnley 1-0 up midway through the first half, but the Clarets faltered and Reece Oates and Lewis Reid turned the game around for Nigel Clough’s side. Parker took some of the pressure off himself with the win against Palace, but that good feeling quickly dissipated as Burnley returned to contention with nine points adrift.
“It’s a great story and Nigel Clough, the manager, did a great job at Mansfield,” said Chris Sutton on the final score. “I don’t think Mansfield could have come from behind to win against a Premier League opponent, but they kept kicking Burnley’s goal, but Lewis Reid’s free-kick is enough to win any cup game.”
Philippe Clement’s Norwich City side continued their fine form with a 3-1 win over West Brom in the Championship, Southampton won 2-1 in extra-time to take their second win at Leicester in a week, and West Ham avoided an upset by beating Burton Albion 1-0 in an early kick-off on Saturday. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side needed a brilliant strike from Crisencio Somerville to get the job done in extra time.
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