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Score: Cardiff City 0-2 Manchester City
Goalscorers: Kevin De Bruyne 8', Raheem Sterling 37'
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring for City through a below-the-wall freekick and straight into the bottom corner. Raheem Sterling doubled that lead after the half-hour mark, getting at the end of De Bruyne's cross.
Manchester City eased their way into the fifth round of the FA Cup courtesy of a 2-0 win over Cardiff City, as Pep Guardiola made just four changes from the side that beat Bristol City, taking the cup competition rather seriously.
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Along with the goals and some horrific challenges, the topic of VAR was also a major talking point from this game. Let's take a look at those key talking points in depth:
#5 Manchester City mean business
After Tottenham Hotspur's much-changed side drew against Newport County and Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup after a disappointing performance, all eyes were on Guardiola's City.
By his team selection and by attending the last round replay between Cardiff and Mansfield, it was certain that the champions elect were not taking this competition, or Cardiff lightly.
Mind you, Cardiff City are a strong side this season. Currently, in the playoff positions, Cardiff play just as their manager Neil Warnock demands his team to - direct, physical and hard working. But when playing against this City side in their current terrorizing form, you need more than just courage.
Manchester City were quick of the blocks and showed creativity right from the word go. De Bruyne gave the visitors an eighth-minute lead and after that, there was no looking back for the Citizens.
City's attacking movements and link up play was sensational in the first half and it was in the first 45 minutes itself that the result of the game was seemingly decided.
#4 Kevin De Bruyne's masterclass
The Belgian wizard has been praised enough this season with superlatives often falling short to describe De Bruyne's prowess on the ball. Yesterday was one such night where De Bruyne influenced the game, not just by his sheer class, but with his grit as well.
His sneaky free kick under Cardiff's wall was cheeky whereas his determination to keep the ball in his possession led him to deliver a delightful cross the second half, and put the goal on a platter for Raheem Sterling.
De Bruyne also had the pass of the match when he put Sterling clear on goal by threading the defence, courtesy of some stunning vision in the second half.
Meanwhile, De Bruyne became the fifth City player this season to reach 10 goals. He joins the likes of Sergio Aguero, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane to elevate City as the only Premier League club to have five players scoring 10 goals or more this season. Manchester United have 4 such players, Liverpool have 3, Chelsea have 2, and Arsenal have none.
#3 Joe Bennett's horror tackle
During one City attack in the first half, Leroy Sane was looking to take the Cardiff defenders all by himself and managed to whizz past them to go through on goal. But when it seemed like Sane was going to get one on one with the keeper, Cardiff's Joe Bennett took Sane out with a dangerous tackle.
Bennett missed the ball and caught Sane studs up. He received a yellow card for his tackle but in reality, the Cardiff man deserved a straight red. The tackle could have seriously injured Sane and it eventually did, as Sane did not appear on the field for the second half, and is now reportedly out for two to four weeks because of an injury.
Bennett apologized on Twitter after the game and admitted that he mistimed his tackle. Pep Guardiola went completely berserk at full time, arguing with referee Lee Mason at full time. In his press conference, Guardiola called for better protection for young players and criticized the nature of the tackle.
Bennett did receive his marching orders late in the game after another late tackle on Brahim Diaz. Neil Warnock criticized his player after the match and Germany's national team's Twitter account also got in on the act regarding the cynical challenge but later deleted that tweet.
#2 Cardiff City's home struggles in the FA Cup continue
After a 2-0 loss to Manchester City, this is the fifth season in a row that the Bluebirds have crashed out of the FA Cup in a home tie. Cardiff's last home win in the FA Cup came in 2015 when they beat Colchester 3-1 at the City of Cardiff stadium.
Since 2010, Cardiff have played eight home FA Cup games and their record reads - one win, one draw, six losses. This is a tough one to believe as the Welsh side are otherwise solid at home in the Championship.
Cardiff have played 14 league games on their home turf, winning nine and losing just two along the way. This is the second-best record in the league after Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Ostensibly, Neil Warnock will be desperate to change this record when the next season's chance comes up.
#1 Where's the VAR when you need it?
Liverpool's 3-2 loss to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday grabbed the headlines for VAR's debut at Anfield. The technology produced two right results but it still received criticism for the duration of time taken to arrive at a conclusion.
In Cardiff, the VAR technology was not used but it would definitely have caused a difference because of two major incidents that took place.
In the 26th minute, Bernardo Silva scored a goal from outside the box which was instantly deemed offside by the linesman as he believed Leroy Sane was in an offside position, blocking the view of keeper Neil Etheridge. Replays revealed that the German was not offside as this wrong call would have been instantly corrected by VAR.
The second incident was the tackle on Leroy Sane as previously discussed. Lee Mason showed a yellow card to Joe Bennett but the use of technology would have instantly given the Cardiff defender his marching orders for his horrific tackle.
Whether of not VAR should be used in a football game is a discussion for another day, but at Cardiff, it would have definitely been in good use.
