Jack Grealish has a weight lifted as Man City show some of the old ruthless spark
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Man City 8-0 Salford City: Grelaish ended a lengthy goal drought and James McAtee scored a hat-trick as Pep Guardiola’s much-changed side hammered their League Two opposition in the FA Cup third round. Jack Grealish needed that. It is not how he imagined his 13-month Manchester City goal drought would end – a penalty in an 8-0 FA Cup win over fourth-tier Salford City in a non-contest where a burgeoning youngster, James McAtee, netted a hat-trick – but a weight has been lifted off his shoulders nonetheless.
![[Salford ‘director of football’ Ryan Giggs was on the bench during the match alongside manager Karl Robinson]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/11/20/SEI235668517.jpg)
Despite Pep Guardiola making an uncharacteristic number of changes to his starting XI, City showed zero mercy, as they often do against lower-ranked opponents in cup competitions, with Grealish the beating heart of the champions’ attempts to rediscover their unrelenting streak that has helped them dominate English football for so long.
![[James McAtee (left) grabbed a hat-trick, while Jeremy Doku (right) was hugely impressive]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/11/19/newFile.jpg)
That is now 25 wins in a row for the champions against lower-ranked sides since they were burned in defeat to Wigan in the Callum McManaman FA Cup final shock to the system, with the aggregate scoreline now reading 96-8 in that time. While it is Salford-born McAtee, who is slowly forcing his way into Guardiola’s thinking on a more regular basis, grabbing the headlines with his first City treble, Grealish’s goal and two assists from a free role in the team – where he made his name as a maverick forward at Aston Villa – shows there is life in the £100m man yet.
![[Jack Grealish also looked good in the comfortable win]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/11/18/SEI235665033.jpg)
