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Match Report and Player Ratings: Luton Town 2-6 Manchester City (FA Cup Fifth Round)

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22:05

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Manchester City firmly cemented their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a remarkable 6-2 victory away at Luton Town on Tuesday evening.

Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne ran the show as the Norwegian scored five and De Bruyne assisted four of them. Mateo Kovacic also chipped in for the sixth goal.

The emphatic victory keeps Manchester City’s treble defence alive, as Pep Guardiola’s side booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Emirates FA Cup.

It took just over three minutes for the deadlock to be broken and it was the combination we were all expecting once again – a Haaland goal and a De Bruyne assist, similar to many that were scored last campaign.

The Belgian was found by Matheus Nunes with a lovely reverse pass and he put it on a plate for the number nine to smash past Tim Krul in the Luton goal.

Kenilworth Road has proved to be a difficult place to come for some teams this season, but Manchester City are not one of them as Haaland netted his second of the game and silenced the home crowd.

The 23-year-old was played through by De Bruyne and calmly put the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper to double City’s lead.

Shortly after, Krul denied the Norwegian a first-half hat-trick with a strong save on the edge of his penalty box, followed up by a double save a few minutes later. The German was doing his best to try and keep his side in the game despite domination from the Blues.

Try all he might, Guardiola’s side were simply too good and Haaland had his hat-trick in the 40th minute. This time he opted for a more delicate approach as he dinked the ball over Krul for the third of the game.

The Cityzens were stunned just before half-time as Jordan Clark got one back for the hosts with a sublime curling effort from range into the top corner. Stefan Ortega was left rooted to the spot and could only watch the net ripple.

It looked for a moment that it would be a stressful second-half for Manchester City as Clark scored his second goal and Luton were now within one goal of the Blues, just minutes into the second-half.

But Guardiola’s side quickly reminded us why they are the reigning champions as Haaland found a fourth and then a fifth before the hour mark. De Bruyne has assisted four out of the five. Ridiculous.

Things were going from bad to worse for Rob Edwards’ side as Kovacic scored City’s sixth of the night. The Croatian’s long-range effort had hit the back of the net before Krul could get a hand up to try and stop it.

The whole of Kenilworth Road rose to their feet in applause as Haaland’s number appeared on the substitution screen. The big man had earned the respect of the Luton fans and the traveling City supporters serenaded the striker as he made his way to the bench.

Manchester City now look ahead to Sunday for the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium after this spectacular victory.

Here’s how we rated the player’s performance in this eight-goal thriller!

Player Ratings:

Stefan Ortega Moreno – 8

Could do nothing about the Luton goal but had a decent game. Made good saves in the second-half.

Kyle Walker (C) – 7

Had no real threat from the opposition and played okay when going forward.

John Stones – 8.5

Moved into midfield with ease and was important in the buildup play.

Manuel Akanji – 8

Came forward with confidence, stopped any Luton threat, and committed few fouls.

Nathan Ake – 7.5

Had a relatively quiet game but did what he had to do well.

Mateo Kovacic – 8.5

Dropped in and looked after the ball when in City’s half and scored a stunning goal.

Matheus Nunes – 8

Came forward well and helped create chances for the attackers.

Bernardo Silva – 8

Retained the ball and was a calm head in midfield.

Kevin De Bruyne – 10

Showed his creative genius with four assists and was pivotal to every Manchester City attack.

Jack Grealish – 7

Looked good on the ball and moved into the middle to dictate the attacks. Unlucky with another injury.

Erling Haaland – 10 (MOTM)

Back at his best with a first-half hat-trick and then another two in the second half. Clinical in front of goal.

Substitutes

Jeremy Doku – 7

Offered a different threat on the left but failed to finish off his dribbles.

Sergio Gomez – 7

Brought on to close out the game and did so well.

Oscar Bobb – 7

Looked quick and dynamic on the ball. Could have caused a real threat if he was on for longer.

Rico Lewis – 7

Moved from right-back to midfield and was always looking to get on the ball.

Julian Alvarez – 7

Didn’t get on the ball much but was comfortable when in possession.

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