A hat-trick from Carlos Tevez helped Manchester City to record a 5-0 victory over Barnsley in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup at the Etihad Stadium this evening.
Aleksander Kolarov and David Silva, both set up by Tevez, also got their names among the scorers as the home team completed a resounding win over their Championship opposition.
Sports Mole looks back over the contest to determine if City were good value for their success.
Match statistics:
Man City:
Shots 19
On target 10
Possession 60%
Corners 8
Fouls 7
Barnsley:
Shots 8
On target 3
Possession 40%
Corners 3
Fouls 8
Was the result fair?
Results with this sort of winning margin are rarely flukes and this one was no different. As soon as Tevez put City in front, they were always going to win this tie and as it progressed, their Premier League quality shone through. Neither side can have too many complaints about the scoreline.
Man City's performance
They may only have been up against a struggling Championship side, but you can only defeat what is put in front of you. City did that emphatically and with an element of style. They kept the ball well and could have scored even more. Roberto Mancini is bound to be impressed that his side did not take their foot of the gas, despite having took a commanding lead into the break.
Barnsley's performance
The scoreline doesn't make for pretty reading, but David Flitcroft can be proud of his players. Whenever they had the ball they always looked to pass it and during the second half they managed to create one or two good chances. They were simply outclassed by a much stronger side.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Carlos Tevez: Not only did the pint-sized Argentine net a stylish hat-trick, he also claimed two assists in what was a complete performance from the Man City striker. He won't have performed much better for the club since his arrival in 2009, that's for sure.
Biggest gaffe
It would be harsh to criticise any Barnsley player for the errors that they committed today. After all, they do not come up against players of City's ability every day. As a result, this award goes to Yaya Toure for getting booked for dissent when his side were winning 3-0. Later on in the game he had another disagreement with the match official and could have been sent off. Totally needless.
Referee performance
Taking nothing away from Anthony Taylor, but it wasn't exactly the most challenging of matches to officiate. There was hardly a bad tackle committed throughout the 90 minutes. Still, he can pleased with the decisions that he did make.
What next?
Man City: A week today the champions make the trip to Merseyside for a Premier League encounter against Everton.
Barnsley: There is barely any time for the Barnsley squad to rest because on Tuesday night they play host to Brighton & Hove Albion at Oakwell.
