Pep Guardiola criticized Manchester City's performance despite their 2-0 FA Cup victory over Salford City at the Etihad Stadium. The Premier League champions advanced to the fifth round after benefiting from an early own goal and a late strike from Marc Guéhi, but Guardiola was far from impressed with the display.

City's manager made nine changes to his lineup and admitted the team failed to read the spaces in attack, resulting in a flat and slow performance. "That is the reason why the game was boring," Guardiola said. "The only good news is we go through. That's all." He emphasized that tiredness was not an excuse, noting that City had a full week to rest before their next Premier League fixture.

One positive for City was the return of defender John Stones, who made his first appearance in over two months after recovering from a thigh injury. Guardiola praised Stones' body language and aggression during his 65 minutes on the pitch. For Salford, the defeat marked a significant improvement from last season's 8-0 thrashing, with manager Karl Robinson calling it a benchmark for future progress.