Cheltenham Town put in a spirited display against Premier League Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday. The robins came nine minutes from making history after Alfie May put the home side ahead on the fifty-ninth minute, smashing home after City defenders were left lost in the box thanks to a Ben Tozer long throw. An inspired Phil Foden equalized on the eighty-ninth minute, with Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres scoring twice more for the away side. It was a performance to be proud of against one of the best teams in the world, with the country admiring Michal Duff’s side, so we thought we’d take a look at the biggest teams who fared worse than Cheltenham Town against Manchester City.
MANCHESTER UNITED – 2011 – 6-1
Cast your minds back to October 2011 where a red card for Jonny Evans on the forty-seventh minute led to a cascade of Man City attacks and a 6-1 defeat for Sir Alex Ferguson’s United. It was a famous match and a day in which the world really started to notice the other team in Manchester under Sheik Mansour’s ownership. Mario Balotelli netted twice, opening the scoring on twenty-two minutes, and doubling the lead on the sixtieth. Aguero added a third on the sixty-ninth, Darren Fletcher pulled one back on the eighty-first, before Dzeko added to the tally on 90’ and 90+3’, with David Silva netting at 90+1’. Both games featured late goals but the Manchester Derby was decided long before the eighty-fourth minute, where is still hung on a knife’s edge at Whaddon Road. For Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and David De Gea it was a day to forget, for all involved at the Jonny Rocks Stadium it was definitely one to remember.
REAL MADRID -2017 – 4-1
Whilst not in a first rate competition, an International Champions Cup game between the Cityzens and the thirteen times Champions League winners Real Madrid in 2017 saw the sky blues run out 4-1 winners against an almost full strength side. Otamendi, Sterling, Stones and Diaz all struck in the second half of the fixture to give Guardiola a stunning win against his former arch rivals, who enjoyed a ninetieth minute consolation from Oscar Rodriguez. The likes of Gareth Bale, Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric all fell to more goals than the likes of Ben Tozer, Alfie May, Lewis Freestone and Conor Thomas, who kept City out until the eighty first minute and conceded one less than Los Blancos.
LIVERPOOL – 2020 – 4-0
A more modern result but a big defeat nonetheless, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool fell to a 4-0 loss at the Etihad in July 2020. Both of Klopp’s heaviest defeats at Liverpool have been to Man City, losing 5-0 in September 2017 and 4-0 in July 2020. The two sides were head to head for the Premier League title in the 2018/19, with Pep’s side coming out on top. The Reds ran away with the 2019/20 title and the 2020/21 title is the most open out of all of them, with both sides and Manchester United in the title race. The world famous front three of Salah, Firmino and Mane were unable to find the net in 2020, perhaps a long throw from Ben Tozer would have helped them out? A full strength Liverpool side were out performed by a weakened Cheltenham side, conceding one more and scoring one less.
CHELSEA – 2019 6-0
This was Man City as their best, a ruthless and fearless footballing machine running riot against England’s very best. Goals from Sterling, Aguero and Gundogan meant that the Cityzens were four goals up after just twenty-five minutes, which I don’t need to remind you that it was still 0-0 at that stage on Saturday. It was a star-studded Chelsea side under Sarri, with the likes of Eden Hazard, Jorginho, and N’Golo Kante lining up in dark blue. Aguero bagged a hattrick, Sterling scored a brace, and Gundogan scored one as the home side ran riot against a team currently languishing in mid table with an under pressure Frank Lampard at the helm. No matter who Chelsea had and how much they had spent, they had no answer to Pep’s firepower, making it all the more impressive for the team who’s record signing is £50,000 to have performed so admirably.
WATFORD – 2019 – 8-0
Whilst Watford aren’t quite on the same level as the previously mentioned clubs, it just goes to show that Manchester City can be in a league of their own even against teams in their own league. Man City were five goals up after just eighteen minutes, with double digits looking a real possibility, with the Hornets being blown away and humiliated by City’s ruthless and efficient attack. David Silva, Serio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez (who was last seen in Lewis Freestone’s back pocket), Nicolas Otamendi, and Kevin De Bruyne all got their name on the scoresheet in September 2019, whilst Bernardo Silva bagged a hattrick. Watford were blown away and beaten easily again in the 2019 FA Cup final, losing 6-0 to City at Wembley. It just goes to show, nothing beats the magic of the FA Cup.
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