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Sergio Aguero scored two goals in 93 seconds as Manchester City came from behind to beat Burnley 4-1 in the FA Cup third round.
The Premier League leaders were looking at a potential early exit after Ashley Barnes gave Burnley a one-goal lead, but Ilkay Gundogan set up Aguero for two quick strikes in the 56th and 58th minutes to turn the game on its head.
Leroy Sane and Bernardo Silva also got in on the act to send the cup favourites into the fourth round, where they could meet the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool.
There was bad news for London trio Brentford, Fulham and QPR on Saturday as they exited the cup after respective home defeats to Notts County, Southampton and MK Dons.
Chelsea will have to play an unwanted replay after Norwich fought to a well-deserved goalless draw against the Premier League champions at Carrow Road.
But the real shock of the day came at the Ricoh Arena, with under-pressure Mark Hughes seeing Stoke go down 2-1 to Coventry in what could be his final game as Potters' manager.
FA Cup third round results
Liverpool 2 Everton 1
Manchester United 2 Derby 0
Fleetwood Town 0 Leicester 0
Middlesbrough 2 Sunderland 0
Aston Villa 1 Peterborough United 3
Birmingham 1 Burton 0
Blackburn 0 Hull 1
Bolton 1 Huddersfield 2
Bournemouth 2 Wigan 2
Brentford 0 Notts County 1
Cardiff 0 Mansfield 0
Carlisle 0 Sheffield Wednesday 0
Coventry 2 Stoke 1
Doncaster Rovers 0 Rochdale 1
Exeter City 0 West Brom 2
Fulham 0 Southampton 1
Ipswich 0 Sheffield United 1
Man City 4 Burnley 1
Millwall 4 Barnsley 1
Newcastle 3 Luton 1
QPR 0 MK Dons 1
Stevenage 0 Reading 0
Watford 3 Bristol City 0
Wolves 0 Swansea 0
Wycombe 1 Preston 5
Yeovil 2 Bradford City 0
Norwich 0 Chelsea 0
The quadruple remains very much on as Sergio Aguero inspired a second half fight back to send Manchester City cruising into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Trailing at half time to Ashley Barnes’ strike, City were back to their irresistible best in a thrilling second 45 minutes.
Two goals from Aguero put them in control, before Leroy Sane and substitute Bernardo Silva completed a 4-1 win against Sean Dyche’s men.
And so the impossible dream goes on in what is an incredible campaign for Pep Guardiola's side.
Some 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League, into the semi finals of the Carabao Cup and the last 16 of the Champions League, City’s manager remains adamant they won’t complete a clean sweep.
But even he gave the clearest hint that he is beginning to think otherwise by naming a starting XI that featured seven of what could be considered his strongest team.
John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi, Fernandinho, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Sane and Aguero represented a statement of intent from him.
Even if he thinks four trophies are beyond his side - he’s not going to stop trying.
And how that paid off in a scintillating second half when City sprung into life blitzed a Burnley side, who might just have been thinking about achieving the impossible themselves.
Stick with us as we bring you all the build up, team news and score updates LIVE from the Etihad.
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Claudio Bravo
Beaten at his near post for the goal, but it would have taken some stopping - worse was his nervous pass out of play for a corner. 5
Danilo
Defended well in the first half and became a real attacking threat in the second - his run and pass led to Sane's killer third goal. 7
John Stones
Agricultural hack at the ball let in Barnes for Burnley's goal, but unlike last season he did not let the error affect him, and he negotiated the rest of the game well. 5
Nicolas Otamendi
Has taken on the mantle of City's main passer out of defence, a sure sign of how much he has improved in the last year. 7
Aleks Zinchenko
He was neat without taking risks, and was possibly subbed when Burnley repeatedly tried to take advantage of his naivety as a defensive left back. 6
Ilkay Gundogan
Was too anonymous in the first half, but his two passes for Aguero's goals were top-class - the first sharp-minded and the second instinctive brilliance. 8
Fernandinho
A steadying, driving force throughout, City's Mr Reliable was both defensive rck and creative wellspring. Such an important player. 8
David Silva
Given the problems in his private life, his concentration and commitment to excellence is unwavering. Constantly drove City forward and the pass for Sane's goal was perfect 9
Raheem Sterling
Did his job by staying wide but had limited impact on the game other than freeing space for Sane on the other side. 6
Sergio Aguero
Just when things seem to be going wrong for him, he produced two moments of goal-getting excellence to turn the game around. 8
Leroy Sane
His end product was not great in a busy first half and got worse - but then he found his scoring boots to claim the killer third goal and teed up Bernardo for the decorative fourth. 7
Subs
Kyle Walker
(for Zinchenko 72) Shored things up 6
Kevin De Bruyne
(for Gundogan 76) Brilliant pass for 4th 7
Bernardo Silva
(for Aguero 79) Took his goal well 7
Not used: Ederson, Mangala, Toure, Diaz
Any suggestion that Pep Guardiola is not interested in a Manchester City tilt at an unprecedented quadruple was belied by his reaction as Sergio Agüero equalised in the 56th minute.
The goal came from Ilkay Gündogan’s quickly taken free-kick, which displeased Sean Dyche and his assistant, Ian Woan, causing the Manchester City manager to go into hyperactive mode, making what appeared to be yapping actions with his hands at them. If there was any sense the Catalan might not have been too displeased at being knocked out and so lose one of the four competitions City can still win, the passion at levelling this FA Cup third-round tie was the clearest riposte.
During the dispute, Guardiola was told by Andy Haines, the fourth official, to calm down. Asked about the incident and what he told Dyche and Woan, the Catalan said: “I am sorry, I apologise. I didn’t want to lose control. I said: ‘Please leave the referees.’ I have a lot of respect for the way they play – of course, the way they play is completely different than the way we want to play, but they do it perfectly. That’s why football is top. All the managers around the world, especially here, have to do their job. Of course, they [managers] have to keep control. If they were offended, I am so sorry.”
Dyche denied there had been a falling-out with Guardiola. “Not really,” he said. “You both fight, you both want your teams to win. You’re allowed to show your passion, right?”
Guardiola’s declaration he would field a strong XI was borne out by his selection. While there were four changes – Claudio Bravo, Danilo, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gündogan – David Silva, Leroy Sané, Agüero, Fernandinho and Raheem Sterling were among those in the side. Dyche also brought in a quartet, in Matt Lowton, Kevin Long, Ashley Westwood and Sam Vokes.
City attacked from the opening whistle and won a corner that Sané played short to Zinchenko. Eventually, Sterling let fly, the shot was blocked, and Burnley cleared. For a while, the home side camped inside Burnley’s half and rolled the ball around. When Ashley Westwood fouled Agüero on the edge of the area, City had a free-kick in optimum position. Gündogan smashed this at the wall, though, and Zinchenko skied the rebound.
Some suspect goalkeeping from Bravo followed. Zinchenko passed to the Chilean and, in trying to find Nicolás Otamendi, he hit the ball out for a corner. Johann Berg Gudmundsson fired this in, Bravo was nowhere, and Ben Mee headed back across goal, exposing the one faultline in Guardiola’s team: the rearguard.
When Burnley did this again, they took the lead. Their keeper, Nick Pope, launched a high ball, John Stones miskicked badly, and Barnes roved forward, then smacked a finish past Bravo.
City’s first act of the second half was a raking Danilo ball that hit Sané on a right-left diagonal.
Zinchenko darted into the area, but the wide man overcooked the pass. Later, Sané ballooned a cross straight out, in a further indication that, so far, this was an off-day.
Silva rarely has these and the clever pass that went through Stones’s legs to Gündogan in the area illustrated his usual excellence. Gündogan, though, failed to shoot and Burnley cleared.
The equaliser came from the quick free-kick that led to Dyche’s and Woan’s spat with Guardiola. As this started to calm down, Agüero slotted a 19th goal of the campaign – and 16 in 16 Cup outings – after a delightful Gündogan back-heel that removed Burnley’s rearguard.
Of the Argentinian, Guardiola said: “His quality in the box is amazing and we need his goals. He’s the kind of player who [as today] doesn’t do much in the first half, but, in seconds, he scores two goals. If we want to win something he’s essential for us.”
From here, City coasted, Sané finally finding high gear to slide in for a ninth goal of the season. He then became provider, picking out the substitute Bernardo Silva, who made it 4-1, seven minutes from time.
