De Bruyne plays for the first time in months… Manchester City sweep past Huddersfield in FA Cup | Sporting
Manchester City saw their return to form as they began their defense of the FA Cup title with a 5-0 sweep of First Division side Huddersfield today and advanced to the fourth round on Sunday. Its captain Kevin De Bruyne has been sidelined with injury since the start of the season.
Manchester City defeated neighbors Manchester United 2-1 in last season's final.
Huddersfield played 33 minutes, with Phil Foden opening the scoring and Julian Alvarez scoring quickly four minutes after the first goal.
The assist king is back👑@Kevindebruyne Back to what he did 🤝#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/QI0WQHpEnX
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 7, 2024
De Bruyne then replaced Alvarez in the 57th minute, and Huddersfield defender Ben Jackson scored an own goal a minute later.
Foden scored the fourth goal (65 goals), and Belgian substitute Jeremy Doku, who returned from injury, scored the fifth goal with a decisive pass from captain De Bruyne (74 goals).
Despite Jared Bowen's early lead, West Ham drew 1-1 at home to second-tier side Bristol City, necessitating a replay at their opponents' stadium.
The same was true for Nottingham Forest. They lost to Blackpool, also from the second division, by two goals at home and ended up drawing 2-2.
Blackpool, in particular, knocked Nottingham Forest out of the cup last season.
