Teenager Samba Scores Twice As Man City Thrash Norwich In Carabao Cup

Manchester City began the defence of their Carabao Cup title in style, thrashing Championship side Norwich City 5-0 at the Etihad Stadium, with 17 year old debutant Floyd Samba stealing the show by scoring twice.

Samba, the son of former Premier League defender Christopher Samba, netted once in each half on his first senior start for the club. The win sets up a fourth round tie against Brighton, who knocked Manchester United out of the competition on Wednesday.

Enzo Maresca's side struggled to break Norwich down early on, with full-back Rico Lewis firing narrowly over the bar in one of the better first-half chances. But City soon took control, scoring twice inside three minutes to settle the tie.

The opener came in the 29th minute, when Samba headed home a flicked finish from fellow debutant Allan's cross. Just two minutes later, Rayan Cherki added a second, finishing calmly after being sent through by Ayyoub Bouaddi.

City picked up right where they left off after the break. Allan, who had set up the opening goal, turned scorer himself just three minutes into the second half, cutting inside onto his left foot before drilling a low finish past the Norwich goalkeeper. Samba then got his second of the night with a lovely curled finish into the far corner, before Ryan McAidoo added a fifth late on, finishing off a pass from Nico O'Reilly.

Norwich thought they had grabbed a consolation goal when substitute Mohamed Toure slotted home late on, but the effort was ruled out for offside, keeping a clean sheet intact for goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli on his debut for the club.

Given City sit second in the Premier League and Norwich are down in 14th place in the Championship, the result was rarely in doubt. It continues a miserable recent run for the Canaries against City, who have now beaten them in all five of their League Cup meetings and won their last three encounters by a combined score of 19-0.

For Maresca, it was a satisfying night all round, having made ten changes from the side that beat Manchester United at the weekend. Cherki was the only survivor from that starting eleven and was rewarded with a first-half goal, but the night truly belonged to Samba, who marked his first senior start with two well-taken goals, the first an instinctive header, the second a real thing of beauty.

It continues an impressive turnaround for Maresca's side, who faced criticism early in the season following a heavy defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield. Since then, City have won six games in a row across all competitions and will be looking to extend that run against Sunderland this Sunday, before the season pauses for a three week international break.