Three things we learned - Manchester City 8-0 Salford City

01/12/2025 07:51 PM

City crush Salford as McAtee scores hat trick.

Manchester City destroyed Salford City at the Etihad Stadium to progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup, with academy graduate James McAtee bagging his first goals at the Etihad with a hattrick.

The 22 year old scored City's fifth, seventh and eight goals in an extremely comfortable victory where many of the squad players gave manager Pep Guardiola a selection headache.

Jeremy Doku opened the scoring after slotting the ball in the corner from a swift counter attack.

Debutant Divin Mubama increased City's lead a few minutes later after tapping home from Matheus Nunes' cut back, and Nico O'Reilly scored his first goal in senior football just before the break.

Jack Grealish scored for the first time in 13 months just after half time from the penalty box after he was fouled in the box, whilst McAtee turned Doku's cross from the right hand side in for the fifth.

The Belgian winger added his second from the penalty spot, before McAtee controlled substitute Phil Foden's weak attempted shot and dispatched it himself.

The man affectionately dubbed "The Salford Silva" completed his first senior hat-trick late on in the game as he slid home to convert Grealish's cross from the left.

Here are three things we learned from the demolition of the Ammies:

McAtee is a source of goals

There isn't much to comment on regarding the game itself. City were the much better team, and crushed Salford. Only so much analysis can be drawn from that.

So let's focus on the more specific things for the long term.

Guardiola - as he often is - was correct after the game; despite his hattrick, McAtee didn't perform brilliantly.

He was often off with his final pass (most notably in the first half when he played it out of play rather than to Savinho or Mubama) and said himself that he was frustrated with his lack of involvement in the first half.

But what McAtee did show was his ability to crash the box and score goals, a trait that, other than Ilkay Gundogan, no City player possesses.

For all three of his goals, he was in the right position to score. The first and third efforts in particular were a testament to his hard work and vision to get into the right places for an easy finish.

He can now be considered a proper option for both attacking midfield and the wings, with the opportunity for minutes a possibility in the next few games.

Nunes and O'Reilly are options at full back

McAtee got man of the match, but the best two players in my opinion were Nunes and O'Reilly, both of whom were playing out of position.

Nunes impressed playing at left back against Manchester United, but that performance was overshadowed by his mistake that led to City's eventual demise.

He seems to me to have similar strengths to Rico Lewis, which is positional play in possession and linking up with his teammates, although he is worse in small spaces than the 19 year old.

However, Nunes is much more of a physical asset, being taller, stronger and faster. It allows him to get back into position quickly and less easily bullied by opposition players at the back post.

O'Reilly, meanwhile, looked off the pace playing in midfield in the Community Shield at the start of this season but was magnificent yesterday.

He was super calm and composed defensively, secure with the ball and offered a lot of physicality.

It wouldn't surprise me if we see both of them line up at full back again before the end of the season; perhaps not at the same time, but both of them perhaps proved a point the most out of any of the XI on the pitch.

We'll probably never see Walker play for City again

Speaking of full backs, it'd appear that the best in the club's history has played his final game.

Guardiola revealed after the game that Kyle Walker wants to leave, and he is reported to be exploring the possibility of a move to AC Milan.

Walker has played 319 games for City in seven and a half seasons for City, scoring six goals and putting in many a strong defensive performance.

It appears on the surface that there are a few reasons for his impending departure. One of them is that he has been far from good enough this season, something everyone, including himself, accepts.

But another is the barrage of abuse he receives on social media.

Yes, he's underperformed, and has done some immoral things in his personal life regarding the betrayal of his wife and children.

But that has translated into him being the scapegoat of everything both on and off the pitch, and has made some forget just how brilliant a servant he has been for the club.

Six Premier League titles (one as captain,) two FA Cups, four Carabao Cups, a UEFA Champions League title, a UEFA Super Cup, a FIFA Club World Cup and three Community Shields - a brilliant trophy cabinet.

His contribution to all of these trophies has earned him the right to decide what to do with his future, and I'm sure all proper City fans will understand this and thank Walker for his legendary contribution to the club.