Pep Guardiola's Manchester City crushes Salford City 8-0: Is this the biggest goal difference in FA Cup history?
Manchester City hosted fourth-division side Salford City in the third round of the 2025 FA Cup at the Etihad Stadium. Despite fielding a rotated squad, Pep Guardiola‘s team delivered a dominant 8-0 victory. But does this result rank as the biggest goal difference in FA Cup history?
While City entered the match as heavy favorites, the eight-goal margin doesn’t even break into the top 40 biggest goal differences in the competition’s history. The record still belongs to Preston North End, who defeated Hyde United 26-0 on October 15, 1887—a result that remains untouched in the FA Cup’s storied past.
First played in the 1871-72 season, the FA Cup has witnessed countless remarkable results over the years. While Manchester City added another emphatic win to their history books, this wasn’t their largest triumph in the competition.
Manchester City’s record FA Cup victory came in the 1929-30 season when they defeated Swindon Town 10-1 in the fourth round on January 29, 1930. Their second-largest win was a 9-0 demolition of Gateshead FC in the third round on January 18, 1933. Another standout performance occurred on February 20, 1926, when City recorded an 11-4 victory against Crystal Palace, their highest-scoring match in FA Cup history.
This recent 8-0 win against Salford City marks a continuation of Manchester City’s fine form, following victories over Leicester City and West Ham. The Sky Blues have now won three consecutive matches for the first time since October 2024, setting an optimistic tone for the 2025 campaign. Guardiola’s side will learn their fourth-round opponents after the Arsenal vs. Manchester United draw on Sunday.
Manchester City’s milestone: First 8-goal win in 18 years
Lopsided victories are a recurring theme in the FA Cup, particularly when top-tier teams face lower-division opponents. However, Manchester City’s 8-0 victory against Salford marks the first time in 18 years that a team has scored eight or more goals in the competition.
The last team to achieve such a feat was Brighton & Hove Albion. On November 11, 2006, the Seagulls crushed semi-professional side Northwich Victoria with the same emphatic score line: 8-0.
Pep Guardiola: Another 8-0 victory in his storied career
Despite enduring one of the toughest stretches of his managerial career, Pep Guardiola has reinvigorated his team ahead of the second half of the season, delivering this dominant 8-0 performance. However, this isn’t the first time Guardiola has overseen such a decisive result.
During the 2010-11 La Liga season, Guardiola’s Barcelona defeated Almeria 8-0 in an away game. The following season, he replicated the scoreline at the Camp Nou against Osasuna. While managing Bayern Munich, he orchestrated another 8-0 win over Hamburg in the 2014-15 Bundesliga season. His most lopsided victory came in the 2011-12 Copa del Rey, when Barcelona defeated Hospitalet 9-0.