Three Key Takeaways: Manchester City Advance to F.A. Cup Quarterfinals

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 01: Collin Quaner of Huddersfield Town shoots during the Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round replay match between Manchester City and Huddersfield Town at Etihad Stadium on March 1, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images) /

Manchester City booked their place into the English F.A. Cup quarterfinals after a 5-1 home victory against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday evening.

Pep Guardiola‘s men had a lengthy break off due to their Premier League match with Manchester United this past Sunday postponed due to the EFL Cup final.

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They hosted Huddersfield Town, who held the Citizens to a 0-0 draw in the first meeting 11 days ago. David Wagner‘s side are currently in a battle for promotion from the EFL Championship to the top-flight, and had a magnificent campaign so far.

The second-tier side got the perfect start as Harry Bunn rifled home after seven minutes to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. It was the midfielder’s second goal in this year’s competition.

Countless attacks by Manchester City eventually paid off as Leroy Sane tapped home Raheem Sterling‘s assist for a 1-1 equalizer at the half-hour mark. It was the German’s fifth goal in all competitions, and his second in the F.A. Cup.

Five minutes later, Sergio Aguero gave Manchester City their first lead of the game after finishing nicely from the penalty spot. The Argentine slotted home after Nicolas Otamendi drew a foul from Jon Gorenc Stankovic.

Aguero played producer on City’s next goal, a close-range tap-in from Pablo Zabaleta three minutes later. After Aguero saw his powerful effort saved by Joel Coleman he then danced around defenders and found a wide-open Zabaleta at the near post.

At halftime, Manchester City had a 3-1 lead and they knew they could have easily been up by a few more. Aguero finished off Sterling’s cross in the 73rd minute to make it 4-1 which killed off any chance for a late Huddersfield comeback.

Substitute Kelechi Iheanacho tapped home his first goal since December 26th after coming on as a late sub. The Nigerian was in perfect position to tap home Jesus Navas‘ cross at the near post.

With the blow of the final whistle, Manchester City booked their place with a quarterfinal date at Middlesbrough after a dominant 5-1 victory.

Manchester City dominated possession 66%-34%, while creating 10 shots-on-goal. Coleman made five saves, while Claudio Bravo made one.

Following the match, Pep Guardiola told BBC Sport he was happy with the performance. “We are happy because we’re in the quarter-finals. I was impressed with Huddersfield in both halves – they have good quality players. We missed a lot of the last passes. But OK – we knew how tough it could be and we play in a good performance. It’s the best Sergio Aguero ever. Today the performance was amazing. The runs were at the right moment and the right tempo. His performance was top – the same with Claudio Bravo, his performance with the foot helped us build up.”

After a huge F.A. Cup victory at the Etihad, here are my three key takeaways from the match.

1.) Sergio Aguero is playing spectacular for City right now.
With Gabriel Jesus out injured, Sergio Aguero has stepped up big time in the striker’s absence. He netted two more goals today and chipped in with an assist. Aguero is playing with a great energy that has helped the team in many aspects. He has been a pest to opposing defenses, recklessly hounding for possession while also creating chances at any moment. He has also formed a nice chemistry with his wide-players, which has given him the opportunity to score more goals. With Aguero playing at an all-time high, this should be great for Manchester City going forward in all competitions.

2.) Claudio Bravo making improvements when starting.
After much criticism was made over his play in the early months of the season, Claudio Bravo has improved with his build-up play. The Chilean has looked calm when he receives the ball and is making smart decisions with the ball at his feet. Also, he has been able to play some nice passes down the field to his teammates which will always help in attacks. Bravo should be ready to start for Manchester City in league-play, but will also believe he can start City’s Champions League second leg at Monaco. The better his performances, the more likely Bravo starts for Pep in the future.

3.) Manchester City need to be aggressive from opening kick.
Despite winning 5-1 this evening, the fact that Manchester City conceded first was pretty shocking. Against a side that has rotated players due to its heavy workload in the Championship, Manchester City should be earning a clean sheet in this match. I feel the players need to be ready from the opening kick and cannot afford to be lackadaisical to start. Against top competition like Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, etc, you need to be ready for everything and anything at any moment. The fight back from Manchester City was great today and should be applauded. But going forward, this team needs to get on the front foot early instead of waiting 15-20 minutes then deciding to turn it up a notch.

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Again, Manchester City will travel to Middlesbrough for an F.A. Cup quarterfinal match on March 11th. Prior to that, they travel to Sunderland on March 5th for a Barclays Premier League fixture.

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