Double goals on debut, City’s big win under spotlight of 17-year-old Samba

Floyd Samba, 17, shone in his first match in the Manchester City jersey. He grabbed attention by scoring a brace on debut. Current champions Manchester City advanced to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup by beating Norwich City 5-0 with his brilliant performance.

City dominated from the start against Norwich at the Etihad Stadium late on Thursday night (September 17). However, they could not find the net in the first half-hour. Finally City took control of the match by scoring two goals within just three minutes around the 30th minute. Samba played a big role in both goals.

The first goal came from a cross by Nico O’Reilly. When the ball went over the head of Norwich goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw, Alan Elias pushed it back. From there Samba headed the ball into the net.

A little later Samba received the ball in his own half and passed it superbly to Ayoub Bouaddi. This 86-million-pound young midfielder moved forward and laid the ball off to Rayan Cherki. Cherki made it 2-0 with a perfect finish from the edge of the box.

City added three more goals in the second half. Cutting in from the left, Alan Elias brilliantly beat one defender and sent the ball into the net with a low shot. This winger who arrived from Palmeiras for 34 million pounds found the net on his City debut.

Afterwards Samba scored his second goal by taking advantage of a defensive error by Norwich. In the dying moments another youngster Rayan McAidoo scored the fifth goal. He finished the last goal of the match with a confident strike after excellent work by O’Reilly.

City coach Enzo Maresca made big changes in the starting eleven on this day. Ten changes were made from the eleven that won against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Star striker Erling Haaland was not even kept on the bench. Samba who got the opportunity in his place grabbed attention with his performance.

Norwich also took the field with nine changes in the eleven. As a result the Championship side could not become a big obstacle for City. City has reasons to be satisfied with the 5-0 win and the performance of the youngsters.

After this victory City’s opponent in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup is Brighton. Brighton advanced to the next stage by beating Manchester United in the previous round.