Ouch! Exeter City humbled by Manchester City masterclass in the FA Cup

None of the 7,800 travelling Exeter City fans truly believed their team could beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, but they all hoped for a stoic and courageous display.

Unfortunately, the gulf in class was painfully vast, even with a changed line-up for the hosts, as the Grecians slumped to a 10-1 defeat, the biggest win for any top flight side in the FA Cup in 66 years.

Academy graduate Max Alleyne set the tone early, opening the scoring after 12 minutes when he stretched to poke the ball over the line. City doubled their advantage just 12 minutes later through captain Rodri, who unleashed a spectacular 30-yard strike to effectively end the contest as a competitive affair.

Exeter’s big day went from bad to worse before the interval, with Jake Doyle-Hayes and Jack Fitzwater both turning the ball into their own net, sending the hosts into the break with a commanding 4–0 lead.

Exeter could have taken a shock lead inside the opening five minutes, but Liam Oakes’ rising header was brilliantly tipped over by James Trafford.

The second half proved even more punishing for the League One side. Rico Lewis added City’s fifth from Antoine Semenyo’s cross before the Ghanaian forward produced a composed finish of his own moments later. Further goals followed from Tijjani Reijnders, whose curling effort found the corner, Nico O’Reilly’s header and a driven strike from Ryan McAidoo as City ran riot.

Nineteen-year-old George Birch gave Exeter a brief moment to savour late on, hammering home a consolation goal, but there was still time for Lewis to complete the scoring with City’s 10th.

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell told the club website: "I think the goals we conceded were poor. They [the fans] stayed with us and clapped us at the end when it was a really humbling defeat."