Football: Manchester City, Liverpool progress to FA Cup fourth round, Blackpool deny Nottingham Forest

Holders Manchester City and English Premier League leaders Liverpool are into the next stage of the knockout FA Cup draw, but All Whites skipper Chris Wood has narrowly missed a chance to edge Notthingham Forest past upstarts Blackpool.

Phil Foden scored twice as holders Manchester City cruised into the fourth round with a 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town, with playmaker Kevin De Bruyne making a welcome return, after four months out with a hamstring injury.

Fielding a strong side, City suffered a setback, when they lost defender Manuel Akanji to injury early in the first half, but Foden's superb finishing and De Bruyne's comeback gave coach Pep Guardiola plenty to be happy about.

Huddersfield, who are hovering just above the relegation zone in England's second-tier Championship, fell behind in the 33rd minute, when Foden rifled the ball into the net from a tight angle and striker Julian Alvarez poked home a second four minutes later.

De Bruyne entered the fray in the 57th minute and City added their third a minute later, as Norwegian winger Oscar Bobb tried to pick out the Belgian at the far post, but his deflected cross looped into the net to make it 3-0.

Foden added his second with a precise shot from the edge of the area in the 65th minute and nine minutes later, De Bruyne teed up fellow substitute Jeremy Doku to complete the rout.

"We are incredibly delighted to have him back, because Kevin helps to win games," Guardiola told the BBC. "It is so important to have him back after a long injury. 

"He will help us with his talent, but I don't want to put all the pressure on Kevin's shoulders, because it is not fair to him. He had a really good assist for the Jeremy Doku goal."

Goalscorer Foden gave credit to Huddersfield for making it difficult, but ultimately City's class told.

"We seem to come against a low block quite often," he said. "We know what to expect, we just need to be patient, find the spaces and keep switching, and hopefully they'll open up and get tired."

Meanwhile, City's league rivals struggled, as the lower-tier clubs made their presence felt in the cup competition to force some potentially lucrative replays.

Luton Town played out a scoreless draw at home against Bolton Wanderers, and Nottingham Forest were held to a 2-2 draw at the City Ground by Blackpool, with West Ham United and Bristol City ending in a 1-1 stalemate.

Forest fell 2-0 behind early, but had a royal chance to snatch victory in the dying seconds of added time, when Wood narrowly failed to connect with a cross from Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Leeds United had no such problems, as striker Patrick Bamford netted a brilliant volley in a 3-0 hammering of Peterborough United, and West Bromwich Albion cruised to a 4-1 win at home to Aldershot Town. 

Reuters

Holders Manchester City and English Premier League leaders Liverpool are into the next stage of the knockout FA Cup draw, but All Whites skipper Chris Wood has narrowly missed a chance to edge Notthingham Forest past upstarts Blackpool.

Phil Foden scored twice as holders Manchester City cruised into the fourth round with a 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town, with playmaker Kevin De Bruyne making a welcome return, after four months out with a hamstring injury.

Fielding a strong side, City suffered a setback, when they lost defender Manuel Akanji to injury early in the first half, but Foden's superb finishing and De Bruyne's comeback gave coach Pep Guardiola plenty to be happy about.

Huddersfield, who are hovering just above the relegation zone in England's second-tier Championship, fell behind in the 33rd minute, when Foden rifled the ball into the net from a tight angle and striker Julian Alvarez poked home a second four minutes later.

De Bruyne entered the fray in the 57th minute and City added their third a minute later, as Norwegian winger Oscar Bobb tried to pick out the Belgian at the far post, but his deflected cross looped into the net to make it 3-0.

Foden added his second with a precise shot from the edge of the area in the 65th minute and nine minutes later, De Bruyne teed up fellow substitute Jeremy Doku to complete the rout.

"We are incredibly delighted to have him back, because Kevin helps to win games," Guardiola told the BBC. "It is so important to have him back after a long injury. 

"He will help us with his talent, but I don't want to put all the pressure on Kevin's shoulders, because it is not fair to him. He had a really good assist for the Jeremy Doku goal."

Goalscorer Foden gave credit to Huddersfield for making it difficult, but ultimately City's class told.

"We seem to come against a low block quite often," he said. "We know what to expect, we just need to be patient, find the spaces and keep switching, and hopefully they'll open up and get tired."

Meanwhile, City's league rivals struggled, as the lower-tier clubs made their presence felt in the cup competition to force some potentially lucrative replays.

Luton Town played out a scoreless draw at home against Bolton Wanderers, and Nottingham Forest were held to a 2-2 draw at the City Ground by Blackpool, with West Ham United and Bristol City ending in a 1-1 stalemate.

Forest fell 2-0 behind early, but had a royal chance to snatch victory in the dying seconds of added time, when Wood narrowly failed to connect with a cross from Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Leeds United had no such problems, as striker Patrick Bamford netted a brilliant volley in a 3-0 hammering of Peterborough United, and West Bromwich Albion cruised to a 4-1 win at home to Aldershot Town. 

Reuters

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