Manchester City with standout Foden trouble-free to FA Cup quarter-finals

Two days after Erik ten Hag captured the League Cup with Manchester United, eyes in England are already focused on that other – even more prestigious – cup tournament: the FA Cup. United’s city rival Manchester City reached the quarter-finals on Tuesday night through a 3-0 win over Bristol City.

Although that club sits in the middle of the Championship, the second tier in England, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola was wary beforehand. After all, Bristol City had not lost a game since December.

“According to my scouts, it’s a good team,” Guardiola noted the day before the cup clash.

Despite the fact that the Spanish coach had changed his basic squad in a number of positions, there was still a more than representative eleven at Stadium Ashton Gate. For example, Nathan Aké had retained his starting place and Kevin De Bruyne, who was still ill last weekend, simply rejoined the team.

Belgian superstar De Bruyne was behind the opening goal, which fell after only seven minutes. He poked Riyad Mahrez away, who kept the overview and allowed Phil Foden to score from close range.

The early goal enabled City to largely control the game thereafter. The Premier League number two hardly got into any trouble, but was lucky after seventy minutes when Sam Bell failed to produce a good header from a promising position.

Not long after that moment, the visitors threw the game into the lock. First, after preparatory work by Aké and Julián Álvarez, Foden scored again and then De Bruyne signed for the 3-0 from distance.

In addition to Manchester City, Brighton, Blackburn Rovers and Fulham also reached the quarter-finals. Manchester United will be in action on Wednesday night. Ten Hag’s team will take on West Ham United at Old Trafford.