Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo shone from the bench as an underwhelming Man City defeated Salford City 2-0 in the FA Cup fourth round. Pep Guardiola made wholesale changes to his starting line up with John Stones handed his first start since November.
City took an early lead when Alfie Dorrington converted a cross into his net, but there were few other chances in a dull first half. Omar Marmoush saw a strike disallowed for offside, while Ben Woodburn forced a good stop from James Trafford and Brandon Cooper sent a header just wide of the target
Salford threatened after the restart as Trafford was required to make another stop from Kelly N'Mai. The visitors looked the most likely to score, and Nico O'Reilly made a couple of important defensive contributions to deny any hope of a cup upset. Any chance of a comeback was dashed in the final 10 minutes, though when Marc Guehi fired in a loose ball to wrap up the win.
Here is how we rated the City players at the Etihad Stadium.
5. Rayan Ait-Nouri - 6.5
A constant threat on the left flank. He defended well and put some good crosses into the box. Almost punished for a mistake in the second half. | Getty Images
6. Nico Gonzalez - 6.5
He kept things simple in midfield and looked to keep possession where possible. He saw plenty of the ball and passed it neatly. | Getty Images
7. Tijani Reijnders - 5
A disappointing performance in which he rarely saw the ball and found it difficult to influence the match. Bullied in midfield for most of the tie. | AFP via Getty Images
8. Rico Lewis - 6
Made some dangerous runs from deep, but just didn't see enough of the ball. A decent defensive contribution when required. | Getty Images