Man City squeeze past stubborn Salford to reach FA Cup fifth round

Manchester City reached the fifth round of the FA Cup with a far-from-convincing 2-0 win over League Two side Salford on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola’s side thrashed their neighbours 8-0 last season but needed an early own goal from Alfie Dorrington and a late effort from Marc Guehi to prevail on this occasion at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet City, who made nine changes for the tie, did not need to be anywhere near their best.

Dorrington’s unfortunate sixth-minute intervention robbed the contest of a lot of its intensity and City effectively went through the motions thereafter.

That did allow Salford to settle and former Liverpool midfielder Ben Woodburn forced a fine save from James Trafford before the interval.

But City were always able to keep the Ammies, who are part-owned by two former Manchester United players in Gary Neville and David Beckham, at arm’s length.

Guehi came off the bench to end any prospect of a Salford shock by pouncing on a rebound for his first goal for the club nine minutes from time. Fellow substitute Antoine Semenyo also hit the post in the closing minutes.