Foden at the double as City see off stubborn Robins

Two goals from the excellent Phil Foden and a delightful third from Kevin De Bruyne wrapped up victory in a game the Championship side keenly contested throughout.

What happened...

All the ingredients that has made the FA Cup what it is were in place at Ashton Gate.

A sell-out crowd, an electrically-charged atmosphere and a full-blooded contest played under the lights between a side with nothing to lose and the current champions of England – the scene had been well and truly set with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.

And the action that followed would not disappoint.

Nigel Pearson’s Bristol City came into the game unbeaten in 12 matches and while they may play their football in a division lower, the Robins are gelling into an exciting young team capable of bigger and better things.

City started on the front foot and were almost ahead on three minutes when Kalvin Phillips saw a 20-yard shot thunder the crossbar.

The 4,000 travelling City fans didn’t have to wait much longer for the opening goal, however, with a delightful move seeing Kevin De Bruyne thread a pass inside the full-back for Riyad Mahrez who sent a wonderful cross across goal for Phil Foden to sweep home confidently.

But the Robins remained chirpy, driven by impressive teenage midfielder Alex Scott, and caused problems aplenty down City’s right flank without working Stefan Ortega Moreno too hard.

The Blues had a number of chances to increase the lead with Ruben Dias and De Bruyne both going close on a couple of occasions, but the hosts went in at the break trailing by just one goal.

Ederson was called upon to replace Ortega Moreno who looked to have picked up a hand injury towards the end of the first period.

The tempo didn’t change after the restart, though.

City looked for the second goal that would surely put the tie to rest, but the final passes in or around the box were a fraction off target.

The Robins, sensing an opportunity and backed by a partisan crowd, found their second wind and continued to cause problems.

The game was becoming ever more frantic and on 71 minutes Dias was pickpocketed by the corner flag, Weimann whipped in a cross and Bell looked set to head home but the ball was slightly behind his leap and his effort went wide.

It was a costly miss because City’s next attack of note ended with a second goal of the night.

De Bruyne played a lovely ball to Nathan Ake on the left of the box, his pass found Julian Alvarez who in turn slid it sideways to Foden who made no mistake with a neat, angled finish.

And it was De Bruyne who added  a third on 81 minutes with a sublime 25-yard shot that curled past the keeper and into the bottom corner to make the scoreline look a little more comfortable than it actually was.

But after five successive away games, it was a case of a job well done for the Blues.

Foden shines bright like a diamond

Phil Foden picked up where he left off against Bournemouth at the weekend with another high energy, inventive and industrious performance at Ashton Gate.

Some of Foden’s control, lay-offs and movement were of the highest quality and on this evidence, our gifted playmaker is back to his very best.

His two goals and all-round performance will have delighted Pep Guardiola, who referred to Foden as City’s ‘diamond’ – tonight Phil showed it is of the polished variety and not the rough cut.

WhaT IT MEANS

City move into the FA Cup quarter-finals and we will learn our opponents when the draw is made on Wednesday evening.

The draw will be broadcast live on BBC One at the conclusion of the Sheffield United v Tottenham Hotspur match.

News of the draw will appear on the mancity.com, our official app and on our official Twitter feed shortly after.

City, Brighton, Fulham and Blackburn are all in the hat ahead of Wednesday’s round of matches.

Star Man: Phil Foden

What’s next?

City return to Premier League action this weekend.

After five successive away matches, the Blues will host Newcastle United at the Etihad.

The game will kick-off at 12:30pm (UK) and is the first match Eddie Howe’s men have played since losing the Carabao Cup final to Manchester United last weekend.

Though the Magpies have two games in hand on City, they trail the Blues by 14 points.

The teams played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at St James’ Park earlier in the campaign.

Pep reaction

“In previous games we had more chances and didn’t score. Especially in front of these fans.

“A good result. We behaved like we are.

“Phil scored one in the last game, now two, his dynamic and rhythm and work ethic (is back to his best).

“Footballers have ups and downs. Phil’s has been up and up and up, but with the World Cup and his ankle, he has had a bit of a down.

“Phil has always had a high level. His impact since he arrived with us has been amazing. When you work like he works, football always pays off for you.”

“Of course we are still alive in three competitions.

“We will see what happens. We finished five away games with 3 days recovery in-between.

“But the guys respond as they are.”

Team notes

Bristol City: O’Leary, Tanner (Weimann 46), Vyner, Kalas, Pring (Dasilva 77), James (King 89), Williams, Scott (Taylor-Clarke 89), Sykes, Wells (Francois 82), Bell

City: Ortega Moreno (Ederson 46), Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Ake (Gomez 83), Phillips, De Bruyne (c), Bernardo (Perrone 88), Mahrez (Grealish 71), Foden (Palmer 83), Alvarez

Subs: Haaland, Rodrigo, Gundogan, Walker

Stats and milestones

• City have now won the last 13 FA Cup matches against sides from a lower division by an aggregate score of 45-8.
• Bristol City have been eliminated from 14 of their 15 FA Cup fifth round ties, with their one exception coming in 1973-74 when they knocked out Leeds United in a replay; Leeds would go on to win the top-flight that season.
• City have won the last 11 away games in the FA Cup, a run that stretches back to February 2019. It is the longest away winning run by a team in the history of the FA Cup.
• Pep Guardiola has managed 36 domestic cup ties as a manager of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City against sides from outside the top-flight and progressed from 35 of them, failing only against Wigan in the FA Cup fifth round in 2017-18. Since 2016-17, when he joined City, only Chelsea have equalled our 27 wins in the competition.