Manchester City cruised to the next round of the FA Cup with a 4-1 thrashing of League Two side Swindon Town on Friday night.
Result: Swindon Town 1-4 Manchester City
Date: 07 January 2022
Venue: The County Ground
Citizens manager Pep Guardiola kept a quite a few of the regulars in the starting line-up, but handed starts to goalkeeper Zack Steffen and young attacker Cole Palmer.
Palmer looked to make the most of his opportunity as the 19-year-old carved out some space before picking out Bernardo Silva, who made no mistake from close-range to put the visitors ahead on 14 minutes.
The lead was doubled in the 28th minutes as Lewis Ward's failed clearance landed at the feet of Gabriel Jesus who played a neat one-two with Kevin de Bruyne before slotting into the far corner.
While Swindon struggled to carve out any openings in the City box, the visitors nearly bagged a third goal just before the break when Joao Cancelo unleashed a powerful strike from distance that sailed just wide of the upright.
The third goal did arrive just before the hour mark when Ilkay Gündogan unleashed a curling free-kick that sailed around the well and went in off the upright.
City awarded a penalty in the 62nd minute when Jesus was brought down under the challenge of Jordan Lyden in the box. The Brazilian took responsibility but saw his spot-kick saved by Ward.
Swindon did manage to pull a goal back with 12 minutes left on the clock, as Harry McKirdy was slipped in behind the City defence before sending a low strike into the far corner.
However, City restored their lead a few minutes when Palmer found the top corner with a delightful finish from a tight angle as the Premier League outfit move on to the next round.
