The fact that City bagged double figures against Exeter, a side battling for survival in League One, should not diminish our historic 10-1 win – our biggest ever scoreline at the Etihad – in the slightest.
Ask Liverpool and Manchester United, who in recent history, were both held to a draw by The Grecians - whose 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in 2006 was achieved as a non-League side!
To underline how rare hitting ten goals or more is, the Blues have managed it just once before in the last 94 years!
That was, of course, our much celebrated 10-1 win over Huddersfield Town in a Division Two (second tier) clash at Maine Road in 1987 - very much an ‘I was there’ moment for those who witnessed it.
There are a few interesting comparisons between our win over Exeter and that win over Huddersfield.
On both occasions, the Blues went in at the break leading 4-0.
And, just as happened against the Terriers in ‘87, Exeter pulled one back on 90 minutes (with the score ironically at 9-0) to make it 9-1 before – and again exactly as happened at Maine Road – the City fans at the Etihad implored ‘We want 10!’ before a tenth goal was duly added in additional time.
Incredible coincidences.
But while just four players got their names on the scoresheet against Huddersfield – Neil McNab, David White (3), Paul Stewart (3) and Tony Adcock (3) - against Exeter there were NINE different scorers, albeit two were own goals by the Devon side.
We have to go back more than 135 years to our club record win, which was an FA Cup qualifying round 12-0 victory over Liverpool Stanley in October 1890 – but that was when City were playing as Ardwick FC.
The Blues also recorded an 11-3 Division Two home win over Lincoln City in March 1895 and hit the same tally in a 11-4 victory over Crystal Palace in 1926.
Another occasion City reached double figures was in 1898–99 when Darwen returned home after a 10–0 drubbing in a Division Two fixture at Hyde Road.
There have also been close calls in the shape of four 9–0 wins over the years - against Burton Swifts in 1897–98, Gainsborough Trinity in 1902–03 and Gateshead in 1932–33 plus the previous biggest scoreline at the Etihad – a 9-0 Carabao Cup semi-final first leg with over Burton Albion in 2019.
On a broader note, our 10-1 win over Exeter was the biggest FA Cup victory by a top-flight side since Tottenham Hotspur beat Crewe 13-2 in a fourth-round replay in 1960 – a record that stood for 66 years.
For the 7,800 Exeter City fans who travelled to the Etihad, it was obviously painful to lose so heavily.
But for Grecians’ boss Gary Caldwell – who was part of the Wigan Athletic side that beat City 1-0 in the 2013 FA Cup final - the defeat was more about the respect and professionalism Pep Guardiola and his players showed the League One side.
“When the team sheet came in, it was an experience we didn’t envisage,” said Caldwell.
“I think my players were excited for two or three minutes, but then they got on the pitch and realised Haaland is the best number nine in the world.
“It’s a lesson that when one of the best managers of all time needs to win a game he picks a team to win it. The respect they showed was outstanding - they did what Man City should have done to us.
“It was a really humbling experience. Our season will not be defined by this - it will be defined on the remaining league games.”
What a way to mark our first ever meeting with Exeter City...
