Swindon Town vs Manchester City. The FA Cup Third Round.
The County GroundAttendance14,753.
Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan and Cole Palmer scored for Premier League leaders; Harry McKirdy gave the home fans something to shout about in an otherwise one-sided encounter
Saturday 8 January 2022 11:49, UK
Cole Palmer has been tipped to emulate Phil Foden after starring in Manchester City's 4-1 win over Swindon in the FA Cup.
The 19-year-old started the game and scored as City, who were missing 20 players and staff - including manager Pep Guardiola and seven-first team players - due to Covid-19 - reached the FA Cup fourth-round with a comfortable victory.
Rodolfo Borrell led City in Guardiola's absence and he was full of praise for Palmer.
"We have him training with us on a daily basis and he has great quality," Borrell told ITV. "Everybody has been able to see it. He is still developing quite a lot but obviously there is a lot of talent there and hopefully soon he can play more minutes, like Phil Foden a couple of years ago.
"They are two great players and Cole has the ingredients, but let's see. He has to keep working hard and perform consistently at that level."
City had up to 20 players and staff members missing but still managed to field a very strong team with just four changes from their 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Premier League.
Bernardo Silva got the ball rolling on 14 minutes when finishing from close range following a lovely twisting run from the impressive Palmer, before Gabriel Jesus doubled the lead when Swindon unsuccessfully tried to play out from the back.
Ilkay Gundogan made it 3-0 when whipping a clever free-kick home from 30 yards and City could afford Jesus to miss a penalty three minutes later. Swindon's vocal crowd were given a moment to remember with 12 minutes to go when Harry McKirdy scampered clear and finished neatly.
There was still time for Palmer to score his first FA Cup goal, curling home a tidy finish into the top corner from a tight angle. City now go into the hat for the fourth-round draw which takes place on Sunday.
It took just 90 seconds for City to show their intent when Joao Cancelo played in Silva but the City forward fired over the bar.
City, after dominating the majority of the possession, took the lead in the 14th minute. Palmer played the ball into the box and Silva timed his run perfectly to tap in from close range.
The visitors did not have to wait too long to double their lead, with Jesus firing past Lewis Ward just before the half-hour mark. Swindon were caught unsuccessfully trying to play the ball out from the back, with City winning the ball back before Kevin De Bruyne played in the City striker to finish.
The home side looked to get forward at every opportunity to try and keep their FA Cup hopes alive, but City showed their superiority and class and were able to prevent any chances being created.
Gundogan added City's third in the 58th minute.
The visitors had been awarded a free-kick 30 yards out which Gundogan curled around the wall and into the bottom corner to all but secure his side's place in the fourth round.
Jesus missed a penalty shortly afterwards, a stuttering run-up and weak shot allowing Ward to save.
In the 78th minute, Swindon pulled a goal back, catching the Premier League champions on the break as McKirdy tucked away his fifth goal in two matches.
However, Manchester City restored their three-goal advantage almost immediately when the star of the show Palmer found the top corner from a tight angle.
Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:
When you have talent like Phil Foden and Cole Palmer progressing from the youth team into the first team, it perhaps explains why Pep Guardiola rarely gets too worked up about not signing players to beef up his forward line. There is no need when you have special talents like Palmer around.
Playing on the right of the City attack that yet again featured no out-and-out centre forward, the 19-year-old put in a performance beyond his years in what could have been a tricky environment at the County Ground. He was the most inexperienced City player on the pitch but turned in a man-of-the-match showing. Palmer's first act of influencing the game came on 14 minutes when dancing past his marker and serving up a tap-in for Bernardo Silva. Always positive and tricky with his play, Palmer was a constant outlet and showed his eye for goal in the second half with two rasping strikes that grazed the crossbar. His moment would come though when making it 4-1, the City talent whipping a ferocious effort into the far corner.
"Hopefully he enjoyed it," Palmer told ITV when asked about what Pep Guardiola would've made of his performance.
"I've just got to keep working hard. Got to keep going and try and get more minutes and help the team out."
Make no mistake, Palmer looks ready for a run in the City side. With Riyad Mahrez away with Algeria, Guardiola looks to have a like-for-like replacement tailormade to slot in. Would a start against Chelsea next Saturday be too much too soon? Guardiola has that decision to make.
Swindon boss Ben Garner said: "I was really proud of the performance. I'm a bit disappointed we made a couple of mistakes with the ball in the first half that cost us.
"We dug in and scored a fantastic goal, I thought we had a penalty. So it's been a fantastic cup run and a great night.
"It would have been interesting if we had got the penalty and made it 3-2 and a little bit tighter, but it's a great night for the club and the players.
"We've got to take the positives from that and try to win league games."
Manchester City stand-in boss Rodolfo Borrell said: "We started really well, on the front foot. There were moments maybe towards the end of the first half we were not as good as usual and allowed some counter attacks but overall it was a good game against good opponents.
On Guardiola: "We were in touch at half-time. There was not a massive change because everything was as planned as before.
"He has great confidence in all of us. Not just me but all the backroom staff. We planned all of this together. He has huge confidence in us and we are grateful. Everything was as planned and it has been a great experience for me and for all of us."
Swindon Town visit Mansfield Town in League Two on Tuesday at 7.30pm while Manchester City host Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday January 15 at 12.30pm.
