Manchester City eased into the fourth round of the FA Cup this afternoon as they beat Birmingham City 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola’s men took an early lead through Bernardo Silva, and he then added a second with a finish from a fine team move.
Riyad Mahrez found Kevin De Bruyne with a stunning outside-of-the-foot pass, and he cut the ball back for Silva to tap home the second.
Phil Foden then added a third, meaning the game was effectively over after 33 minutes, with City completely dominant against the Championship side.
City coasted into the fourth round, and Guardiola was even able to rest a number of players having substituted the likes of De Bruyne and Ruben Dias at half time.
Winger Mahrez played the full 90 minutes though, and produced arguably the highlight of the game having played that sumptuous pass for De Bruyne.
The Algerian was praised on Twitter for his display, suggesting that he was playing like ‘prime Eden Hazard’ in a fine performance.
Others called the £60m wide man ‘class’ and ‘sublime’, hailing him for taking over from De Bruyne as City’s main creative force in the second half.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
