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Published 15 Feb, 2026 01:30pm

Man City beat Salford, Newcastle knock out Villa, Liverpool cruise in FA Cup

Manchester City beat League Two Salford City 2-0 in the FA Cup to move into the fifth round on Saturday as January signing Marc Guehi scored his first goal for the Premier League club, while Burnley were stunned 2-1 by League One side Mansfield Town.

Sandro Tonali’s double inspired Newcastle United to a 3-1 comeback win over 10-man Aston Villa, while Mohamed Salah scored as Liverpool beat Brighton and Hove Albion 3-0.

West Ham United needed extra time to beat Burton Albion 1-0, while Norwich City claimed a 3-1 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Manchester City had thrashed Salford 8-0 In the third round last year, Pep Guardiola’s second-string side did not take long to take the lead as Alfie Dorrington turned in Rayan Ait-Nouri’s dangerous cross for an own goal in the sixth minute.

Omar Marmoush thought he had scored City’s second, but his celebrations were cut short when the offside flag went up.

Replays showed the Egyptian was onside, but Video Assistant Referees and Semi-Automated Offside Technology are not in use until the fifth round of the competition, with Guardiola seen wagging his finger at the linesman.

City dominated for most of the half, but Salford nearly equalised late on, and the home side had James Trafford to thank as the keeper denied Ben Woodburn with a sharp save when his shot looked destined for the top corner.

“We had to work really hard. They did really well, defended really well, and they had belief that grew through the game. We got there in the end and got the good win,” Trafford told the BBC.

Salford continued to probe after the restart as Trafford once again came to the rescue, and Guardiola had seen enough, bringing on the cavalry in the form of Antoine Semenyo, Guehi and Nico O’Reilly.

The home side doubled their lead in the 81st minute when Matty Young palmed away Rayan Cherki’s cross into the box, and the ball fell to Guehi, who tapped in from close range.

Guehi was with Crystal Palace last month when the holders were knocked out by non-league Macclesfield in one of the FA Cup’s greatest upsets, but the new rules meant he was no longer cup-tied and able to play for City.

Burnley were beaten 2-1 at home by Mansfield thanks to skipper Louis Reed’s second-half free kick as the third-tier side eliminated a top-flight club for the first time since 1969.

Josh Laurent had given Burnley the lead in the first half, while Rhys Oates equalised early in the second before Reed’s glorious free kick sailed into the top corner to spark wild celebrations in the away end.

“As soon as it left my boot, I felt it going in. I have been working on them throughout the week,” Reed said.

“The lads said, ‘This is your moment, go and take it’. Thankfully, I did!”

In Saturday’s early kickoff, West Ham, who are also battling relegation alongside Burnley, needed an extra-time goal from the in-form Crysencio Summerville to see off Burton as they claimed a 1-0 victory at the Pirelli Stadium.

Summerville made a solo run from the left wing, cutting in before curling his effort into the top corner for his sixth goal in seven games across all competitions.

But West Ham were made to sweat after Freddie Potts was sent off, with Burton coming close to an equaliser twice in the dying stages.

Newcastle overcame Villa in an incident-packed encounter at Villa Park.

Tammy Abraham appeared to be offside when he bagged a controversial opener for Villa before home goalkeeper Marco Bizot was sent off for fouling Jacob Murphy before halftime.

The Magpies rallied after the break. Tonali scored twice, including a sublime long-range effort, to turn the tie and substitute Nick Woltemade added a third.

“The officials don’t make any decision on purpose, it’s just what they think at the time, but without VAR, I thought there were a lot of errors today,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said.

Liverpool delivered a commanding win over Brighton as Curtis Jones struck first with a composed finish before Dominik Szoboszlai hammered home a second, capping a slick team move.

Mohamed Salah sealed the result by converting a penalty after being fouled by Pascal Gross.

“It’s very nice to have him on the scoresheet again (Salah), but he also helps the team a lot defensively, and that is something very positive,” Liverpool coach Arne Slot told reporters.

The FA Cup fifth round draw is on Monday.

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