Manchester City made light work of Swindon Town to progress into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
While this weekend is one the most eagerly-anticipated in English football given the history of shocking cup upsets, such an event never seemed likely at the County Ground.
Despite a recent Covid outbreak, City – without Pep Guardiola – were able to name a starting eleven few other teams across Europe could match, although it was academy graduate Cole Palmer who stood out.
The England U21 international’s stunning footwork on the byline teed up Bernardo Silva for the opener less than twenty minutes in before Gabriel Jesus punished Swindon after a defensive mix-up while attempting to play out from the back.
Palmer, who was making his first start in the FA Cup, continued to pull strings across the frontline, looking at home with City’s embarrassment of riches going forward.
Ilkay Gundogan caught both wall and ‘keeper out with a stunning free-kick just before the hour mark and though Jesus missed a penalty, City were largely in cruise control throughout, although Harry McKirdy’s goal did threaten to make the last ten minutes more difficult than they should have been.
Palmer, however, had the final say with a stunning curling effort to seal City’s passage into the next round.
