Bristol City 0-3 Manchester City: FA Cup fifth round – live reaction

Pep Guardiola’s turn. “A good result … it was really tough … Bristol showed us how good they can be … I am impressed by some players I didn’t know … the second half was much better … after the second goal the game was over … the incredible fans of Bristol … we came here for the Carabao Cup semi-final and the environment was amazing and I remember it … a good result … the FA Cup is so nice … wherever you play away is difficult … [Phil Foden] is dynamic … football players have up and downs, but his career was up, up, up, up, up … after the World Cup he struggled and was a little bit down, but he is back … when you work like he works, it always pays off … [Kalvin Phillips] made 90 good minutes with some good actions and it was important for us that he is back … we are still alive in three competitions and will see what happens in the future.”

Phil Foden talks to ITV: “I don’t think it was a 3-0 game to be honest … it was quite tight at times … they gave us a big challenge … they went man for man … we struggled to win our individual duels, but in the end our quality shone through and I’m delighted with the result … [Was the second goal his?] … I’m not sure … I’ll have to watch it back! … it’ll be nice if you give it me! … I feel much better with my feet, it’s not easy when you play with discomfort in your feet … I feel 100 percent now … hopefully I can come back into the team and help them as much as possible … it’s been one of the lowest points in my career, I love to play football and when I don’t I’m a bit frustrated so that’s how it is … we haven’t won the FA Cup for a while … we want to go on and win it … hopefully we can keep up this form and finish the season strong.”

The scoreline reads like a lop-sided non-event, but that was a decent cup tie. Bristol City gave a great account of themselves in the first half despite falling behind early doors; they held on staunchly as Manchester City turned up the pressure early in the second half; they came very close to equalising with an opportunistic smash and grab; and only ran out of steam after the visitors scored their second goal. None of which is to say that Manchester City weren’t deserved winners: at times they played football that was very easy on the eye, and never seriously looked in trouble at any point. Yep, a decent cup tie.

“So I may have to wait another 50 years to reach the final,” sighs Kim Thonger, our guest Bristol City fan tonight. “I’ll only be 114. Not only was I at City v Leeds at Ashton Gate in 1974, the last year we got through to the quarters, I sold programmes outside the ground to fund my coach fare and entry. Fair play to De Bruyne, super goal.”

Pep Guardiola and Nigel Pearson enjoy a warm moment, congratulating each other. Both teams emerge with credit tonight for very different reasons. But it’s Manchester City who go through to the quarter finals.

90 min +1: The first of two added minutes sees Ederson, on walkabout, and Akanji nearly get into an awful muddle yards from the Manchester City box. But no consolation for the hosts.

89 min: That’s the last thing Williams does tonight. He’s replaced, along with James, for King and Taylor-Clarke. Meanwhile De Bruyne makes way for Perrone. “Bristol City’s performance should empower them for the remainder of the Championship season,” suggests Andrew Benton. “Be nice if they could get on the score sheet here, though.”

87 min: A brouhaha explodes out of thin air. Eh? Silva is yellow carded, then Williams follows him into the referee’s notebook. Ah, seems the latter clipped the former around the lug, then there was a shove back. All good clean fun.

86 min: Manchester City have been clinical in this second half. Much the better side. Yet Bristol City have been impressive on the whole, and this scoreline is a little bit hard on them. Alvarez nearly makes it worse as he meets Silva’s cutback from the right and steers towards the bottom left. Vyner slides in to block … perhaps with an arm, but the referee sees nothing and there’s no VAR. Four would be really harsh.

84 min: The closest Fulham have come to winning the FA Cup is their appearance in the 1975 final. They’re now two matches from matching that achievement, having just beaten Leeds 2-0 at Craven Cottage. Daniel Gallan has the details!

83 min: Bristol City replace Wells with Francois, while Manchester City swap out Foden and Ake for Palmer and Gomez.

Yep, thought as much, these performances always end like this. De Bruyne, a world-class act, has been rusty as hell all evening. But now he shakes it all off, storming down the middle before steering a glorious low curler into the bottom right from 25 yards. Wow!

80 min: Grealish dances his way down the left before taking a shot from a tight angle. O’Leary palms it over the bar, more by luck than design. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.

78 min: Pring is replaced by Dasilva. Meanwhile another of tonight’s ties has just finished, and the 2021 winners Leicester City have been beaten at home by Blackburn Rovers, who haven’t won the cup since 1928. Could a 95-year drought be coming to an end? Rovers would become the first second-tier side to win the cup since West Ham in 1980 if it is.

77 min: Sykes flashes wide from an ambitious position on the right. A little desperate, but you can understand the impulse.

76 min: That’s such a shame for Bristol City, who had threatened to level up three minutes earlier with the smash-and-grab move that led to Bell heading wide. But Manchester City are the champions of England … and that’s why they’re champions. The quarters await.

Bristol City have been marvellous, but their resistance is broken now. De Bruyne rolls a fine pass down the left channel for Ake, who feeds Alvarez in the middle. Alvarez slips right for Foden, who opens his body and shoots for the bottom left. The ball’s going wide, but Vyner isn’t to know that, and he sticks out a leg to divert into his own net.

72 min: Here’s that big-name sub we promised. Grealish comes on for Mahrez.

71 min: Bristol City nearly score a magnificent opportunist goal. Scott chases a lost cause down the right. Dias tries to shepherd it out of play. Scott nips in ahead and backheels it off the byline. Weimann, romping in from behind, curls to the near post, where Bell heads narrowly wide. What a goal that would have been!

69 min: A booming cross in from the Bristol City left. Ederson claims, but looks to have carried the ball out of play for a corner. That’s not awarded either. It was borderline, but the home fans have made their minds up and they’re really not happy.

68 min: Williams wins Bristol City a corner down the right. Nothing comes of it, but the visitors are beginning to look a little uncertain as they cling to their narrow lead. Some big-name substitutes arriving soon?

67 min: Dias comes crashing into the back of Bell as he heads clear, just outside his own box on the right. It’s a free kick all day long, but for some reason the referee isn’t interested in awarding one. Manchester City get away with one there. That should have been a free kick in a very dangerous position.

66 min: Alvarez has a whack from distance. Easy for O’Leary. Bristol City attempt to counter. Foden comes sliding in late on Sykes. The first yellow card of the match.

64 min: Those attacks have re-energised Bristol City, who had been chasing shadows previously. The home fans raise the volume accordingly.

62 min: Some space for Weimann down the right. His low cross nearly makes its way through to Scott in the middle, but Akanji is on point to intercept and clear. Just as well, because had that got through, it was surely 1-1. Much better from Bristol City, who are still very much in this.

61 min: Sykes crosses from the right. Weimann attempts to sweep home first time from 12 yards, but his shot hits Dias the second it leaves his boot. A little better from Bristol City, who haven’t been quite as sharp since the restart.

60 min: De Bruyne attempts a casual whip towards the top left. The ball slaps harmlessly into the wall. Mahrez tries again from the rebound, but there’s no oomph in that effort either.

59 min: Weimann’s clumsy touch on the edge of his own D allows Mahrez to whip the ball off his toe. Vyner comes across to cover, only to clip Mahrez to the ground. A free kick in a very dangerous position, just to the left of the D. Mahrez and De Bruyne stand over it.

58 min: Manchester City are painting some pretty first-touch triangles right now. Bristol City can’t get a touch. But the hosts are holding their shape if nothing else. No way through right now.

56 min: De Bruyne strides gracefully down the middle at high velocity. He shapes to shoot but instead dinks the ball through the centre of the Bristol City defence. Alvarez isn’t expecting it, and can’t get a shot away from the penalty spot. Manchester City appear to have moved up a gear or two.

54 min: Foden sweeps in from the left and slips the ball across to De Bruyne, who feeds Mahrez down the right. Mahrez tries to return a pass to Foden on the penalty spot, but he’s crowded out of it. Manchester City springing into life all of a sudden there.

53 min: A result from the Potteries. The first team through to the quarter finals are Brighton & Hove Albion, who have won 1-0 at Stoke City. Evan Ferguson’s goal on the half-hour the difference there.

51 min: Silva plays a lovely reverse pass down the left to release Foden into space. Foden fizzes a tempting low ball through the six-yard box. Alvarez can’t telescope a leg to ram home. Kalas, on his shoulder, did well to put him off.

49 min: Akanji tries to shepherd a loose ball back to Ederson in the Manchester City box. Bell is chasing, and Ederson charges out of his box to clear, telling Akanji to get out of the way. Ederson does clear, but catches Bell in doing so. Both take a heavy knock. For a second, it doesn’t look good for either of them, but happily both eventually get back up and are good to continue.

47 min: Kalvin Phillips hit the bar after 61 seconds of the first half with a curling screamer, but he hasn’t won over any of you. Admittedly the sample size is two, but that’s all I’ve got to work with. “The Phillips signing seems like a rare Begiristain mistake,” argues Ben Barclay. “Awful for Leeds, meaningless for Manchester City, and damaging for Kalvin’s career.” Meanwhile John Ryan adds: “Manchester City look awful and are lucky to have scored, the Bristol City keeper hasn’t had a save to make in over 20 minutes. Pep might as well take Kevin de Bruyne off because he hasn’t shown up tonight, and Phillips too, who couldn’t hit the target if he was left out there by himself at half time with a ball.”

Bristol City get the second half started. They’ve made one change: Weimann comes on for Tanner. Manchester City have also made a swap. Ortega, who hurt his hand midway through the first half, is replaced in goal by the club number one Ederson.

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There’s just enough time for Phillips to slice a weak shot miles right from distance, and that’s the end of the first half. The champions of England hit the front early, but the hosts have held firm since, while looking lively up the other end too. Nigel Pearson will be happy enough with that. Pep Guardiola might want a little more from his men in order to wrap this up. A reminder that this will go to extra time if it ends in a draw, with penalties to follow if necessary. Pep won’t be wanting that.

45 min +1: The first of two bonus first-half minutes passes by without incident.

45 min: Foden gets a yard on Tanner down the left and crosses deep, only for Kalas to spectacularly slice out of play for a corner. Bristol City half clear. The ball’s swung back in from the left. Dias attempts to sweep home from ten yards, only for Pring to throw himself in the road and take the sting out of the shot. O’Leary gathers.

43 min: Ajanki is caught on the edge of his own box by Wells, and earns the first talking-to of the evening. No yellow though.

42 min: It’s so nearly two. A cute flick by Alvarez sends Foden into space down the inside-left channel. Foden passes to De Bruyne on his outside. De Bruyne enters the box and flashes a shot over the bar. You’d have expected him to hit the target at the very least. But he’s getting closer. Another couple of gears, and he’ll be back up to speed.

40 min: Foden demonstrates that he’s fine to continue by bringing down a high ball with absurd ease while hovering in mid-air. Left foot as plush cushion.

39 min: Foden hares in from the left flank and runs slap bang into Scott’s shoulder. He goes down, having felt that one. There was no malicious intent on the part of the Bristol City star, and happily Foden is able to get back up quickly enough.

37 min: Scott dribbles purposefully into the Manchester City box from the left, forcing Phillips to concede a corner. James sends a decent delivery towards the near post, where a couple of all-new post-Hummel red shirts are lurking … but Phillips finishes the tidying up job by heading clear.