If you don’t shoot, you don’t score, goes the old adage, and so it was with their first shot on target after an hour that Manchester City finally made their class count.
It was through Riyad Mahrez that City beat a determined Peterborough defence and from then on, it felt routine. Jack Grealish added another thereafter, collecting a beautiful ball over the top from Phil Foden as the favourites secured safe passage into the FA Cup’s quarter finals.
Led by Oleksandr Zinchenko, the Ukrainian wearing the captain’s armband, City avoided the upset. When you’re top of the Premier League facing bottom of the Championship, anything but a win is embarrassing, and they got there in the end.
Manchester City cruised to victory in their FA Cup tie on Tuesday evening (above) beating Peterborough 2-0 away from home
Oleksandr Zinchenko was responsible for captaining the Citizens to victory after Fernandinho handed him the armband
The fifth round was the earliest exit City had endured under Pep Guardiola in a loss at Wigan in 2017-18. Just in case it went wrong, on their bench they had Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva. On the pitch they had Grealish, Gabriel Jesus and Mahrez.
A daunting prospect for any defence, and this tie came at the end of a wild week for Peterborough. Darren Ferguson resigned as manager after seeing his side slip to 24th in their league, behind a team in Derby County who started this season on minus 21 points.
So it was Grant McCann, Ferguson’s replacement, who had the daunting task of trying to fix one of the leakiest back lines in the land – on short notice and with City coming to town.
Still, anything can happen in the FA Cup and this didn’t go entirely to plan for the Premier League favourites. At half time, one team had managed the most shots on target and it wasn’t the men from Manchester.
Mahrez scored the opening goal of the game in the 60th minute – making the scoreline 1-0 heading into the last 30 minutes
Jack Grealish (right) scored Manchester City’s second and final goal of the evening just six minutes later to finish it off at 2-0
A theme was developing. Mahrez would feign to cross from the right but only drag the ball back and delay. It happened time and again and Peterborough’s defenders were perfectly fine with that. The longer the ball stayed out of their box, the better.
City were probing and one move ended with Zinchenko ballooning a shot up and over the London Road End from 25 yards. Again, the Posh would take that all day long.
City were controlling possession – they enjoyed 83 per cent in the opening 20 minutes – but just couldn’t score. This wasn’t turning into the gimme they’d hoped for.
Instead it was Peterborough who came closest to opening the scoring when Jeandro Fuchs out-muscled Nathan Ake during a breakaway. Fuchs got his shot away but a deflection from Ake and save from Ederson stopped the ball from nestling in the bottom corner.
‘We’ve had a shot, we’ve had a shot,’ sang the Peterborough supporters on repeat.
Thirty minutes in, City had still not tested Peterborough goalkeeper Steven Benda. They ought to have changed that before the break but Ilkay Gundogan could only direct his header wide from Mahrez’s cross. Gabriel Jesus then fluffed his lines, too, as he produced an air-kick in stoppage time instead of scoring.
As if to sum up their half, Joao Cancelo produced a foul throw. ‘Premier League, you’re having a laugh,’ went the chant. It hadn’t been the best 45 minutes for City and Guardiola made two changes: Aymeric Laporte for Ruben Dias and John Stones for Ake.
At the start of the second half, a long throw-in from Joe Ward tested the new centre backs on show and Peterborough’s Sammie Szmodics, with a glorious chance to make FA Cup history against the champions of England, scuffed his shot.
What could have been, because City went up the other end to take the lead in the 60th minute.
Foden played the ball out to the right where Mahrez was waiting to pick it up. With two step-overs to mesmerise his marker Hayden Coulson, he aimed for the far corner and found it, although Benda was disappointed he didn’t stop it.
Phil Foden (above) was picking out passes left, right and centre during Manchester City’s clash with Peterborough
The England youngster (left) was responsible for setting both Mahrez and Grealish (right) up for their goals
Prior to the start of the game, Zinchenko and Peterborough captain Frankie Kent held a Ukrainian flag in support of the nation
Now that they had the breakthrough, City looked liberated. Foden fancied another assist and got it when he floated a ball in behind the Peterborough defence. Grealish controlled it with a delicate touch before dropping a shoulder and beating Benda.
Noel Gallagher, the former member of Oasis, enjoyed that one as cameras caught him being swarmed in the away end.
Still, Peterborough had chances to get a goal out of this contest, namely when substitute Jack Marriott unleashed a powerful effort. It stung Ederson’s palms as he pushed it away.
For 45 minutes at least, the FA Cup provided some light relief for Peterborough and their Championship problems They troubled the Premier League leaders and can take pride in that.
City got the job done, though, as they so often do and they’re still very much in the mix for another trophy under Guardiola.