FA Cup - McCarty scores a hat-trick as Manchester City beat Salford City 8-0

The third round of the 2024/25 FA Cup ushered in another battle. The "Blue Moon" Manchester City relied on goals from Doku, Mbama, Nico O'Leary, Grealish and McCarty to finally defeat Salford City of the English League Two 8-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Five minutes into the game, Manchester City organized an attack. Nico O'Leary received a pass from Savio and shot from outside the penalty area, but the ball went wide of the goal. In the eighth minute, Grealish received the ball in the penalty area and passed it diagonally. Doku pushed the ball forward and the ball hit the post and bounced into the net, helping Manchester City open the scoring with a 1-0 lead.

In the 13th minute, Manchester City continued to attack. Doku dribbled the ball outside the penalty area and shook off the defense, but the shot went wide. In the 20th minute, Savio created an opportunity. Nunes received the ball and passed it to the front of the goal. Mbama took advantage of the situation and shoveled the ball into the empty goal, helping Manchester City continue to lead Salford City 2-0.

In the 34th minute, Salford City tried to counterattack. Killian Kwasi got the ball and shot towards the defense, but the shot was too straight and the ball was directly caught by Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson. In the 42nd minute, Salford City organized a chance. Matty Lund passed the ball and Kevin Burke shot after receiving it, but the ball went wide of the goal.

In the 43rd minute, Doku made a triangle pass from the penalty area, Nico O'Reilly followed up and adjusted a few steps before shooting low and hitting the target, making the score 3-0.

At the beginning of the second half, Manchester City arranged for Akanji to replace Aké. In the 48th minute, Grealish received a pass from Mbama and was about to shoot when he was knocked down by the opponent. The referee awarded Manchester City a penalty kick. Subsequently, Grealish took the penalty kick and scored, helping Manchester City expand its lead to 4-0.

In the 62nd minute, Doku passed the ball to the penalty area after attacking, and McCarty pushed the ball into the goal while dealing with the defense of the opponent's players, making the score 5-0. In the 68th minute, Foden created an attacking opportunity, and Doku met the ball and entered the penalty area. When shooting, the ball hit the opponent's hand, and Manchester City got another penalty. Subsequently, Doku took the penalty kick and scored, helping Manchester City to lead Salford City by a large margin of 6-0.

In the 72nd minute, Foden passed the ball outside the penalty area, and McCarty took the ball and shot low to score, making the score 7 to 0. In the 81st minute, Grealish received the pass from Gundogan and made a cross. McCarty seized the opportunity and fell to the ground to score, expanding Manchester City's lead to 8 to 0.

In the end, Manchester City defeated Salford City 8-0 and successfully advanced to the round of 32 of the FA Cup.