Zinchenko captains City to FA Cup win at Peterborough

Oleksandr Zinchenko captained Manchester City to a 2-0 victory at Peterborough to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

City handed the armband to the defender in a show of support for his home nation of Ukraine and before kick-off, he and Peterborough captain Frankie Kent held a Ukraine flag as they led the two teams out at the Weston Homes Stadium.

Peterborough proved a tough nut to crack in the first half for the Premier League leaders. Ilkay Gundogan curled a strike beyond the dive of Steven Benda but wide of the far post, while the German midfielder also headed Riyad Mahrez’s cross well wide from eight yards as the Championship strugglers held firm.

After the break, Peterborough started strongly as Sammie Szmodics fired wide with the goal at his mercy before Phil Foden intervened with a superb last-ditch tackle to take the ball off Jorge Grant’s toes just as he was about to get a shot away from inside the City penalty area.

However, City’s quality eventually took over. Mahrez would finally break the deadlock with a low trademark left-footed strike, which was City’s first attempt on target.

City remained on top after taking the lead and they made the game safe seven minutes later when Foden’s inch-perfect ball over the top released Jack Grealish, who scored his first FA Cup goal to secure his side’s passage into the last-eight.

More to follow…

What’s next?

Peterborough will return to Championship action on Friday March 4 at 7.45pm as they travel to Huddersfield.

Manchester City’s next game will see them take on inter-city rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday March 6 at 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports.