Report, result, goals as Guehi goal seals 2025/26 FA Cup fourth round win for Premier League side

Alfie Dorrington scored a sixth-minute own goal and Marc Guehi opened his Manchester City account with an 81st-minute tap-in as the Premier League title contenders saw off fourth-tier Salford City in the 2025/26 FA Cup fourth round.

Returning to the scene of their 8-0 thrashing in last season’s third round, Salford might have feared a similar scoreline when Dorrington diverted Rayan Ait-Nouri’s cross in with a leg – but Karl Robinson’s promotion hopefuls produced a highly respectable performance in daunting circumstances, keeping City from having an effort on target before half-time.

With Video Assistant Referee technology not in operation, City striker Omar Marmoush had a thunderous first-half strike ruled out for offside before 19-year-old visiting goalkeeper Matty Young – who is on loan from Sunderland and conceded those eight goals on Salford’s last visit – pushed Rayan Cherki’s cross into the path of Guehi to seal victory later than City might have liked.

You can see stats and updates from the tie as they happened here.

Analysis: Guardiola sees Man City tested by Salford City

City had more than 94% of possession during the opening 15 minutes but Dorrington’s misfortune provided the finishing touch they were missing as the huge favourites finished the first 30 minutes on a total of two shots and an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.03.

Manager Pep Guardiola had described his players as “exhausted” during the build-up and said they were looking forward to a break after this tie, and the Spaniard looked unimpressed at half-time after Salford had several fine chances.

Midfielder Josh Austerfield suffered a case of tangled feet in the penalty area, while Ben Woodburn forced goalkeeper James Trafford to tip his effort over the crossbar and unmarked centre-back Brandon Cooper headed wide when unmarked during first-half added time.

A surprise result remained conceivable until Guehi’s first goal since the England defender’s arrival from Crystal Palace for £20 million in January, and fellow City newcomer Antoine Semenyo almost added another when the substitute drove a shot against a post from Cherki’s pass.

Manchester City vs Salford FA Cup stats

• Guehi scored his first goal in the FA Cup since netting for Crystal Palace against Everton on March 20 2022
• City have won their last 21 matches in the FA Cup against sides from outside the Premier League, scoring 84 goals
• At home, they’ve won their last 11 such matches by an aggregate score of 59-5
• They recorded 80.4% possession, an xG total of 2.42 and 19 shots
• Salford had six shots, posting an xG of 0.36 xG
• At half-time, Man City had enjoyed 85.2% of possession but reached an xG of 0.13 xG to Salford’s 0.28
• Salford were playing in the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in their brief history
• The last time a side from the fourth division or lower eliminated a team in the top three of the top flight was February 1971, with Colchester United beating league leaders Leeds United in the fifth round
• Salford have lost all four of their competitive meetings with Premier League sides by an aggregate score of 17-0