Man Utd held by Wolves in FA Cup stalemate, Man City cruise through

London (AFP) – Spluttering Manchester United were forced to settle for a dour 0-0 draw at Wolves in the FA Cup third round, while holders Manchester City started their bid to retain the trophy with a 4-1 victory against Port Vale on Saturday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s troubled side didn’t manage a single shot on target in the latest in a growing list of underwhelming displays.

Easily beaten by Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday, United once again struggled to find any momentum and now face an unwanted replay at Old Trafford later in January.

Solskjaer made seven changes at Molineux with the League Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester City looming on Tuesday.

Knocked out by Wolves in the FA Cup quarter-finals last season, disjointed United nearly fell behind when Matt Doherty’s volley was superbly turned away by Sergio Romero.

Brandon Williams had a strong penalty appeal rejected by VAR after the United left-back tumbled following a challenge with Leander Dendoncker.

United substitute Marcus Rashford hit the bar with his first touch, but Wolves nearly won it in the closing moments as Raul Jimenez smashed against a post, leaving Solskjaer’s men with just two wins from their last five matches.

At the Etihad Stadium, City boss Pep Guardiola made seven changes, but Oleksandr Zinchenko got the scoring started against fourth-tier Vale after 20 minutes.

Port Vale striker Tom Pope had memorably mocked John Stones last year, claiming he would love to play against him after being underwhelmed by the City defender’s performance during an England match.

And with Stones returning for City after a month out with a hamstring injury, the 34-year-old Pope backed up his social media taunts by equalising with a glancing header in the 35th minute.

Sergio Aguero restored order when he fired City back in front with his 15th goal of the season three minutes before half-time.

Harwood-Bellis sealed the win from Stones’ flick in the 58th minute and Phil Foden got the fourth in the 76th minute.

– Villa, Brighton crash out –

Aston Villa and Brighton suffered embarrassing exits as the Premier League clubs paid the price for making a raft of team changes.

Villa are languishing just above the relegation zone after a difficult first season back in the top-flight and boss Dean Smith prioritised that survival battle with nine changes against second tier Fulham.

Anthony Knockaert gave Fulham the lead at Craven Cottage with a 54th minute curler as the former Brighton forward grabbed his first goal since September.

from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2QOMOOK