My goodness, I have a match report for you already! It’s from Ben Fisher live at the scene:
That’s my cue to leave you – with thanks for your company as always – but you can move smoothly on to Everton v Spurs with Scott Murray. Cheerio!
Kyle Walker chats: “I’ve just seen the far post and thought I’d put it in the back of the net! No, it was a cross but we deserved a bit of luck with the way we’ve been playing and I’m happy to get on the scoresheet. Obviously we’ve made a few changes from last season, the way we’ve been pressing and moving the ball around, but we’ve kept the same philosophy since I’ve been here. Last season we just got beaten by a very good Liverpool team.”
That’s some achievement from City given the times we are living in, even if today’s game on its own was no great shakes. They are back in “machine” territory.
Man City have now won 15 straight games in all competitions - a new record for an English top-flight team!
Full-time: Swansea 1-3 Man City
The game was over after those two City goals early in the second half, but Whittaker did add a nice consolation for Swansea. Man City make the last eight; the Swans can concentrate on joining them in the top flight.
90 min: We’ll see just the two added minutes.
88 min: It’s a fair reflection of the game, this. I’m glad Swansea got their goal. They are clearly a good side and it should be remembered that they changed half their team today. So did City, but that’s a different kettle of fish!
84 min: Doyle goes just wide with a cross-shot from the right after a lovely cushioned Mahrez touch sent him away. Guardiola is annoyed he didn’t pass to an open Foden. He’ll learn to make those decisions and he certainly burned away from the Swans’ back line there.
83 min: Don’t think we’ll get a big late comeback despite that but Swansea have been more quickly into City, who do seem a bit rocked by Rodri’s departure, since those subs.
80 min: Whittaker was only signed this month from Championship rivals Derby. What a nice moment for him. Meanwhile City, stung by that, come again and Woodman is forced into a save with his legs at the near post.
Goal! Swansea 1-3 Man City (Whittaker, 77)
They couldn’t, could they? The young sub Whittaker is found in a central position in the box, has space to turn and lashes across Steffen with his left foot. Nicely done! Cooper applauds and maybe this game will get a little edge back now.
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77 min: Dhanda comes off and the Villa loanee Hourihane, who’s had a big impact since signing, comes on.
75 min: Not sure how City haven’t scored there, Mendy being brilliantly denied a tap-in by Latibeaudiere before Swansea defend a follow-up too. I missed man of the moment Phil Foden coming on for Silva a few minutes back.
73 min: Yes, Rodri goes off – hopefully as a precaution – and Claudio Gomes comes on. Then Doyle hammers the free-kick into the wall.
71 min: That’s actually hurt Rodri quite a lot, and this isn’t what Guardiola will want to see as the game plays its way out. He stands up and hobbles away but I wonder if he might be hooked shortly. No point taking a risk.
70 min: Dhanda is booked for a very late challenge on Rodri, who was surging forward. Don’t rule out another City goal or two if they fancy it.
68 min: It has mid-season friendly vibes now, this. Fair enough. Everyone has bigger fish to fry and the game is long since done.
66 min: Here are all those subs. Whittaker, Arriola, Freeman and Bidwell on for Lowe, Morris, Guehi and Roberts.
65 min: I’m not sure the ball is ever going to go out of play again. Silva has a shot charged down by Latibeaudiere.
63 min: Swansea get it back off them but find themselves forced ever further back. City have been relentless on and off the ball.
62 min: Swansea will soon make four (FOUR) substitutions but first they need to get close to City, who are just passing around them at will.
58 min: Walker sees a shot blocked after a rapid and ultimately quite amusingly shambolic City attack. They almost had too many options to fashion a chance.
57 min: Some City changes. Mahrez is on for Sterling; young Tommy Doyle replaces Gundogan.
56 min: Mendy has any number of options inside the box – he could shoot or pass – but presents the ball to Dhanda.
55 min: Grimes crosses towards Roberts; it’s cleared and then Dhanda lashes not a million miles off target from range. Swansea have lost this game but it’d be nice to see them give it a go in this final 35 minutes.
53 min: Swansea can’t exactly say they weren’t warned as to the sins of overplaying from the back against City – unless they didn’t see Alisson’s nightmare at the weekend. I do question the need for teams to do it so religiously. Great when it works, really great, but often it’s just not practical unless you are very, very good.
Goal! Swansea 0-3 Man City (Jesus, 50)
Jesus receives a header across goal, brings the ball down beautifully, spins and lashes in. A beautifully-taken goal but Swansea, who had a goal kick after that Torres miss, gave the ball straight to them with ill-advised playing out from the back.
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50 min: Manning goes in rashly on Torres and it’s a dangerous City free-kick. Swansea don’t want to get thrashed here, even if it’s probably game over already. Rodri heads the set piece down and Torres hooks only *just* over the bar. But then ...
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Goal! Swansea 0-2 Man City (Sterling, 47)
Errrm, about that Swansea revival. It could be a long half now. Sterling is found in acres of space on the left of the box and slides home clinically, just 74 seconds after the interval.
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Peeeep! Second half underway!
Let’s go ...
Peter Oh points out the USA! USA! influence in this tie:
“I don’t mean to get all Ted Lasso, but with Morris on, Arriola benchwarming for Swansea, Steffen in goal for City, and the Budweiser logo everywhere, today’s proceedings have a pretty strong American accent. Y’all agree? By the way, an English FA Cup match, played in Wales? ‘How many countries are in this country?’”
Yes, you’ll know Steffen by now – while Paul Arriola is a new loan arrival at Swansea from DC United.
Do we have hope for Swansea in this second half? I expect they’ll have a flurry at some point and they do look good enough to cause trouble. But Man City are just operating with so much control and you’d fancy them to get another.
Or maybe I can interest you in some comic relief? Here is today’s Fiver:
Barry Glendenning has coverage of Chelsea Women v Arsenal Women for you – should be a cracker, that one:
Half-time: Swansea 0-1 Man City
That’s a fair scoreline even if Walker’s goal was fortunate. Swansea have had a couple of chances of their own, to be fair, but it’s been more or less all Man City in possession.
45 min: Jesus tricks down the right and drills across goal but Sterling, under pressure from Latibeaudiere, can’t *quite* convert at the back post.
44 min: Guehi outmuscles the relatively quiet Sterling at the other end – rather throwing him over, which VAR would probably have frowned upon if it was present – and, just for now, the game is fairly end-to-end.
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43 min: Swansea now have a spell of good possession. They do look sharp and confident on those occasions they can force the issue.
40 min: Chance for Lowe! He’s onside after Dhanda plays him through, but the ball won’t quite come down for him and Garcia is in to snick the ball away before he can convert. Guehi can’t quite get enough purchase to guide the resulting corner in. Swansea aren’t out of this.
39 min: Swansea try to play out but City hound them and Manning slips over a bit comically near the touchline. So hard to try and play City at their own game.
37 min: Cabango is booked for having too much of a go at Gundogan.
36 min: A sweet City move sees Mendy pop up in an odd inside-right position, but Grimes sweeps up assiduously.
34 min: Swansea will be kicking themselves at such a sloppy concession. Now they need to edge forwards more often when they can, without getting picked off by a relentless City. Tricky, huh? They have shown they can be bright on the flanks though and that was a chance for Fulton.
32 min: Nearly an instant response! Roberts overlaps on the right and picks out the onrushing Fulton with a perfect delivery that he thunders high & wide. Could have hit the target there and equalised.
Goal! Swansea 0-1 Man City (Walker, 30)
Well ... Walker did not mean that! He whips a low ball in from the right, outside the angle of the box and Torres tries to help it in. Torres gets no contact but his movement is enough to outfox Woodman, who dives but sees the cross drift beyond him and in!
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29 min: A Gundogan ball flashes across goal and City old boy Latibeaudiere deals with it calmly, controlling and then passing out.
27 min: And still. City have all the ball but aren’t creating too much at the moment, though Fulton has just blocked a Gundogan shot on the edge of the box.
25 min: A bit of a lull, now, which Swansea won’t mind.
22 min: Marvellous save from Woodman! Torres surges through the inside-right channel, blasts one towards the far corner and the keeper tips it wide quite superbly. Woodman also deals with the resulting corner, punching away. Swansea remain level for now.
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21 min: Garcia is down in the box after another good little foray from Swansea, who made ground down that left side again and required a decent clearance from Gundogan when the ball came in. The defender will be OK.
20 min: “As a Welshman, I’m very happy to see Swansea doing so well, and I’d love to see them progress in the FA Cup,” writes Matt Dony. “As a Liverpool fan, I’ll be really annoyed if Swansea beat City, after the weekend’s result. Such is the life of a football fan. Almost never happy.”
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18 min: Another City shot, Swansea conceding possession and Torres rather snatching at a shot after Jesus heads down. Woodman gathers with ease.
16 min: Now a Man City corner. They look so confident. It’s another fun-filled Gundogan effort ... and Laporte runs all the way round the back and heads across goal, the ball bouncing not far wide!
15 min: Chance for Jesus, who is found by a clipped ball from the left by Mendy and jabs an instinctive sidefooter a yard wide of the near post.
14 min: City are passing, passing, probing, but Swansea are keeping their shape well. Guehi whacks a ball from the left away.
11 min: “Does Gundogan usually put corners in jauntily then?” asks Richard Hirst. The Germany midfielder finds corners to be great fun.
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9 min: Good attack from the Swans there though with Morris, the USA forward making his first start, sprinting down the left before offering a cutback that City defend before it reaches Dhanda.
8 min: Guehi, an excellent defender on loan from Chelsea, makes a useful interception in the box. It remains all Man City.
6 min: Man City are now very much hogging the ball, as they do. A decent Mendy cross is turned behind for a corner by Manning. Gundogan puts that in quite flatly, and it’s sliced away.
4 min: Jesus went down after taking that shot, and took some sustained treatment. Was it his ankle? He will run it off, by the looks of it.
2 min: But City spring forward as soon as I type that, and Woodman beats away a 20-yard drive from Jesus.
1 min: Swansea have started on the front foot; they’ll want to give City a real examination today.
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Peeeeep! Off we go!
Swansea, right to left, kick us off.
Ok, the teams are now lining up at the Liberty – fasten your seatbelts ...
“City will not have the benefit of the razor-sharp passing from Sunday’s main assist man Alisson Becker tonight, so I wouldn’t get too overconfident if I were them,” cautions Peter Oh.
Pep Guardiola on a potential 15 matches unbeaten if City win: “If that happens ok, we will see. Focus on winning the game, that is what we have to do.”
If that doesn’t pump you up, then can I ask what will?
Rick refers to this tie, two centuries years ago, when the Swans raced into a two goal lead before City bit back. I’d settle for that much excitement tonight!
Rick Harris is brimful of optimism:
“Always dangerous to make rash statements like ‘sure to be a better match than the Man Utd v West Ham snoozefest we all slogged through last night.’ Manchester City have been entertaining if fits and starts but they have also ground out results in quite a few games. The main difference of course is that there isn’t the deathly presence of VAR, so I think we can rely on Pep’s boys getting a couple of dodgy decisions in their favour like the last time they played Swansea.”
Several other ties happening later today. We’ll have Leicester v Brighton, Sheffield United v Bristol City and Everton v Spurs. There’s a lot of football going on these days.
Swansea are flying under their manager Steve Cooper. Do you know why? Fear not – Ben Fisher does:
I make that five changes for Swansea from their big win over Norwich. Ex-City defender Joel Latibeaudiere comes in. As for City, that’s a verrrrrry strong side. Only four starters (Gundogan, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Sterling) from the filleting of Liverpool but that’s testament to what Pep Guardiola has available.
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Teams
Swansea City: Woodman; Roberts, Cabango, Latibeaudiere, Guehi, Manning; Fulton, Grimes, Dhanda; Morris, Lowe. Subs: Webb, Naughton, Bennett, Freeman, Bidwell, Hourihane, Arriola, Ayew, Whittaker.
Manchester City: Steffen; Walker, Garcia, Laporte, Mendy; Rodri, Gundogan; Bernardo, Torres, Sterling; Jesus. Subs: Ederson, Stones, Zinchenko, Mahrez, Cancelo, Foden, Doyle, Gomes, Bernabe.
Evening all
We go again. It’s FA Cup round five, night two – and a very nice-looking tie between All Conquering Swansea and All Conquering Manchester City.
The Swans sit third in the Championship, although they’d be in the top two if they won a game in hand. They’re a bit of a surprise package really but are playing some really tremendous stuff. City are ... well ... you know by now. They’re back to being City and threatening to run away with the Premier League. But they’re facing a team that might just be feeling as confident as they do, so there’s every chance they might be run pretty close this evening.
So it’s an attractive one! And sure to be a better match than the Man Utd v West Ham snoozefest we all slogged through last night. These two will come out to play, so I hope you will too – keep in touch with your emails and tweets, and let’s enjoy this one together.
