Manchester City 4-0 Fulham: Holders cruise into FA Cup fifth round

Holders Manchester City continued their FA Cup defence with a dominant fourth-round victory over Fulham in which they became the first major European team to score 100 goals this season.

Any prospect of the Championship side producing an upset was effectively over after six minutes, when defender Tim Ream hauled down Gabriel Jesus in the area and was sent off.

Raheem Sterling and Jesus had missed their previous two penalties, but Ilkay Gundogan avoided making it an unwanted hat-trick when he tucked the ball into the corner from the spot.

City - who made eight changes and started with Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne on the bench - soon took total control as Bernardo Silva added a classy second from the edge of the box.

The Portuguese's effort meant City brought up their century of goals in 37 games, two more than it took last season.

Jesus added two second-half headers, capitalising on poor Fulham defending, for a side who have averaged five goals per game in home FA Cup matches under Pep Guardiola.

City will discover their fifth-round opponents when the draw takes place on Monday from 19:00 GMT on The One Show, on BBC One and online.

• Guardiola disappointed with Etihad attendance

• Watch all the FA Cup fourth-round goals

City's quest for cup treble continues

Sixteen points behind leaders Liverpool but 17 points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United, Manchester City's Premier League fate - and next season's Champions League spot - seems all but certain.

So the challenge now for Guardiola's team is to add all three remaining cup competitions to the Community Shield they won in August.

The FA Cup and Carabao Cup holders are well placed to reach the final of the latter competition - they hold a 3-1 advantage over Manchester United with the second leg of their semi-final to come this Wednesday.

And, predictably, they made light work of Fulham to ensure they remain on course for another lengthy run in the FA Cup too.

Angelino, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden could have made the scoreline embarrassing for the visitors in the first half and their wastefulness might have been the one cause for concern for a perfectionist such as Guardiola.

Bernardo Silva's excellent strike - twisting and turning on the edge of the box before an unerring finish into the bottom corner - was much more like it, though.

Fulham were generous opponents, sticking with their approach of playing out from the back, and Jesus was the second-half beneficiary. First he headed in after the visitors dallied too long and were dispossessed, then he nodded in to an open net after keeper Marek Rodak could only parry Phil Foden's powerful drive.

City have enjoyed a favourable series of draws since the start of 2017-18 in the FA Cup, and this latest demolition means their tally from games against Burnley (twice), Cardiff, Wigan, Rotherham, Newport, Swansea, Brighton, Watford, Port Vale and now Fulham stands at 40-6.

There will, of course, be tougher tests to come - not least the prospect of Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16 in exactly a month's time - but Guardiola will have been grateful for the chance to rest so many key players while advancing with such ease.

A brutal reality check for Fulham

Fulham are third in the Championship and have improved recently, notably knocking Aston Villa out of the FA Cup in the third round.

But for them this was like rewinding the clock 12 months to their torrid Premier League campaign, when they conceded 81 goals - at the rate of more than two per game - on the way to relegation.

Ream endured a difficult season in the top flight and it was the USA defender's rash decision to bring down Jesus - earning him a first red card in more than 300 games in England - which set the course for defeat at Etihad Stadium.

One of the finest moments in the Cottagers' history came at this ground in April 2008 when, 2-0 down at the break and mathematically relegated, they fought back to win 3-2 - and went on to survive.

Though the scoreline was the same at the interval this time, there was never a chance of such a recovery here.

Manager Scott Parker, who was without top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic and opted to start with captain Tom Cairney on the bench, wanted his team to play with "big courage and big heart" but the early setback wrecked that plan.

And, in hindsight, he might consider they were too courageous in playing out from the back against City's high press, as they were repeatedly punished for avoidable mistakes.

Fulham will now turn their attentions back to the Championship promotion race, where they are three points behind second-placed Leeds as they seek an immediate return to the top flight.

Man of the match - Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)

The 22-year-old won the penalty that opened the scoring for Manchester City and completed a convincing win with his two second-half goals

'Nothing but pride for my players' - what the managers said

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola: "After one or two minutes, I thought it would be a tough, tough game. They were incredibly aggressive up front. They are a team with a lot of courage but after the red card it was different. Even then they tried to play.

"Motivation was right. After 2-0, we missed a little bit some of the movements because they defended well and high.

"Hopefully in the next game against United, our fans can come and make the stadium full.

On Aymeric Laporte, left out after returning from a long-term injury at Sheffield United last Tuesday: "He had some fatigue, which is normal after four or five months.

"We are not going to take risks. After four months, he played 75 minutes and we'll see. Until we feel he is ready, he won't play. If he can play against United, he can play."

Fulham boss Scott Parker, speaking to BBC Sport: "Everything we planned for, we had to change after six minutes because of the red card.

"Tim Ream is obviously devastated. He has been immense for us this season. He made a mistake today and in heat of moment you make decisions and sometimes you make the wrong ones.

"You are playing one of the best teams in Europe but I have nothing but pride for my players when they went down to 10 men because I see a team here that has an identity with their commitment and personality.

"I've been in this job for 12 months and I'm trying to build something. OK, we lost the match 4-0 but the bigger picture is there are some big positives to take from it."

Prolific Gabriel - the stats

• Manchester City have won all six of their home FA Cup matches under Pep Guardiola, scoring 29 goals and conceding only three.

• Fulham suffered their heaviest FA Cup defeat since losing 4-0 against Manchester United in the 2008-09 quarter-final.

• It is the seventh consecutive season in which Manchester City have hit 100 goals, the longest run by a Premier League team since Manchester United score 100 or more goals for nine seasons in a row between 2004-05 and 2012-13.

• Ilkay Gundogan has been directly involved in eight goals in just five FA Cup appearances at Etihad Stadium for Manchester City (one goal, seven assists).

• Gabriel Jesus has scored 56 goals and assisted 17 more in 78 starts for Manchester City in all competitions.

• Bernardo Silva has been directly involved in eight goals in nine FA Cup appearances for Man City (four goals, four assists).

• Tim Ream received his first red card in English football - with this game his 306th appearance across spells at Bolton Wanderers and Fulham.

• Manchester City became the first team to score four or more goals in six consecutive home FA Cup matches since Luton Town in December 1928 - Luton's sixth game in that run was also at home to Fulham.

What's next?

Manchester City are at home in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals against local rival Manchester United on Wednesday (19:45 GMT) while Fulham are back in Championship action against Huddersfield on Saturday (15:00).