began their Carabao Cup defence with a 5-0 win over Norwich City at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night. Floyd Samba scored twice on his senior debut; Rayan Cherki and Allan also found the net, and Ryan McAidoo added a late fifth as Enzo Maresca’s rotated side booked a fourth-round home tie with Brighton.
Maresca made 10 changes from the team that won at Old Trafford on Sunday. was left out of the squad. Goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and winger Allan made their first City appearances, while academy midfielder Samba started.
City had most of the ball but needed almost half an hour to break Norwich’s low block. Samba opened the scoring in the 29th minute, heading in after Allan hooked the ball back into the box. Kellen Fisher was booked a minute later. Cherki made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute, finishing after Samba held the ball up and slipped him through.
The 17-year-old academy midfielder joined Manchester City at Under-9s. An England youth international and the son of former Blackburn defender Christopher Samba, he scored 17 goals and made six assists in 24 games last season, including a Premier League 2 hat-trick at Stoke and a free-kick in the FA Youth Cup final against .
Allan, signed from Palmeiras last month, scored on debut three minutes after the restart, cutting inside and shooting City 3-0 ahead. Samba’s second arrived on 54 minutes after a sloppy Norwich restart. McAidoo, on at half-time for Cherki, tapped in the fifth in the closing stages. Kaden Braithwaite also came off the bench.
Norwich, who made wholesale changes of their own, barely tested Rulli. City kept a clean sheet and controlled more than 65 per cent of possession.
The holders now host Sunderland in the on Sunday. Brighton, who knocked out of the cup in midweek, visit the Etihad in the next round.
had previewed the tie by stressing that cup games still have to be won.
“We prepare all the games trying to win and trying to compete to win the competition,” he said. “Then, at the end, we see if we are able to win or not. For sure, the game will be a tricky game because the one-off games are the difficult ones.”
On the young players he kept with the first team after pre-season, he added: “When young players are good players, the age is not going to close or open the door. Floyd is an attacking midfielder who can arrive in box, good finish. Can be a good profile.”
