Manchester City exploded into the fourth round of the FA Cup this afternoon with a 7-0 hammering of Rotherham United at the Etihad Stadium.
Raheem Sterling gave the home side the lead after only 12 minutes, but it wasn't until the latter stages of the first half that the floodgates opened with Phil Foden and a Semi Ajayi own goal in quick succession making it 3-0 at the break.
Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez, Nicolas Otamendi and Leroy Sane then all got in on the act during the second half as Rotherham fell to their heaviest ever FA Cup defeat.
Find out how all of the action unfolded courtesy of Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
The Premier League's big boys avoided any major shocks on Friday and Saturday, but this one would be the biggest of the lot as Championship strugglers Rotherham look to topple the champions of England. Will we have a memorable cup upset, or will Pep Guardiola's charges safely negotiate this banana skin?
We have an hour until kickoff, so let's start by checking out the team news...
Well, it is a strong team named by Pep Guardiola, who does not make a full 11 changes as expected despite the ferocious tempo at which the Liverpool game was played just three days ago.
The scary thing is that City have still made eight changes to that side, though, and they are still able to name a formidable starting lineup despite being made up of largely second choices right now.
It is a different injury to the knee problems which have hampered the Belgian for much of the campaign, but City are still expected to be cautious with his recovery and today seems like a perfect occasion just to ease him back into the team and get some much-needed minutes under his belt.
He replaces Bernardo in the team after the Portuguese ran further than any other player has done in any other Premier League games this season against Liverpool.
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Further forward, there is something of a surprise start for Sterling after he featured against Liverpool just three days ago, although Brahim Diaz's imminent move to Real Madrid does limit their options for rotation in the front three to a certain extent.
It is a front three which would not look out of place in a big Premier League or Champions League game and, when supplied by the creativity of De Bruyne, you have to worry for Rotherham today.
Back-up goalkeeper Muric had been expected to start but he is again forced to settle for a place on the bench, while even in a second-string side City are able to start the likes of Kyle Walker and Nicolas Otamendi. Zinchenko comes back into the side at left-back, having been taken out of the firing line against Liverpool, when Guardiola played Laporte as a makeshift full-back.
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Raggett and Wood are the players to drop out for the visitors, with both of them named on the bench this afternoon.
Rotherham are also without Kyle Vassell - who will return to first-team training next week - while Richie Towell is still suspended for this match.
Will Vaulks and Michael Smith - whose goals picked up an overdue win for Rotherham last time out - both start again, with the official team sheet showing Williams leading the line alongside him.
Pep Guardiola's side endured a dreadful December by their own ludicrously high standards, but they have already got 2019 off to an ideal start and their recent dip in form does not change the fact that this is one of the best teams we have seen on these shores for a long time.
It looked as though it might be heading for a draw when Firmino cancelled out Aguero's opener - a result which would have suited Liverpool far more than Man City - but Leroy Sane's pinpoint finish 18 minutes from time secured a crucial three points from the champions.
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It was a costly spell of three defeats in the space of four league games - having only lost three of their previous 70 - which left Man City playing catch-up, but they are right back in the race now with 17 games remaining.
Only Liverpool and Chelsea have conceded fewer goals than City in the league this season - and they remain the division's highest scorers - but it is now 11 matches without a clean sheet across all competitions for the champions, a run which stretches back to a 4-0 win over West Ham in November.
Indeed, incredibly Man City have won just three of their last seven FA Cup games against sides from a lower division - losing three of those outings too - so there is a glimmer of hope for Rotherham today.
Indeed, across all competitions they have won 10 of their last 11 home games including Thursday's victory over Liverpool - although Crystal Palace's success here just before Christmas may also give Rotherham encouragement.
As a club, Man City have won the FA Cup five times before, but not since 2011 when their success ended a 35-year wait for major silverware of any kind.
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Manager Paul Warne has admitted that it will take a sprinkling of FA Cup "magic" for them to get a result today - and stranger things have happened in this competition - but it is a huge ask for the visitors.
To put their task in perspective today, Rotherham have failed to win an FA Cup match of any kind since November 2013, losing all five since then and conceding at least two goals in each of those matches. Bradford City were the last team they beat in this competition, and now they are trying to topple the English champions away from home.
Indeed, they have a pretty miserable record on the road this season too, failing to win any of their 14 away games across all competitions so far in 2018-19.
However, the Millers do come into this particular game off the back of a rare victory, with their 2-1 home triumph over Preston North End ending a nine-match winless streak.
The Millers had to hold on for their first win in 10 too, with Nmecha pulling one back for Preston 12 minutes from time, but they successfully saw out the 2-1 victory to get 2019 off to a promising start.
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The Millers have shared the spoils in 10 of their last 17 matches across all competitions, and should they manage another one today then they will fancy their chances a lot more of getting something out of a replay at New York Stadium.
Only two teams have scored fewer goals than the Millers this season as well, while they are without a clean sheet in 12 games stretching all the way back to a goalless draw with Middlesbrough in October.
You can never discount the possibility of an upset in this competition... but one here looks really unlikely. Everything points towards a Man City win and it should be quite a comfortable one for them too.
SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Man City 4-0 Rotherham
That particular game ended in a 1-1 draw, as a Rotherham team containing current boss Warne held a Man City side boasting the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips, Shaun Goater, Stuart Pearce and Richard Dunne.
City needed a replay in that third-round tie, though, only managing a goalless draw in the initial match before running out 4-2 winners at the second attempt.
This will be Rotherham's first ever visit to the Etihad Stadium, but their last away game against City also ended in defeat with Ali Benarbia netting a late winner as the hosts triumphed 2-1 at Maine Road.
MAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Gundogan, Foden; Mahrez, Jesus, Sterling
ROTHERHAM STARTING XI: Rodak; Vyner, Ajayi, Robertson, Mattock; Forde, Vaulks, Wiles, Taylor; Williams, Smith
It is a nice little goal too, with De Bruyne sliding a lovely pass in to Sterling, who jinks past one defender in the box before curling his finish into the corner. They made it look so easy.
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20 - Raheem Sterling has been directly involved in 20 goals in his last 19 appearances at the Etihad Stadium for Manchester City in all competitions (11 goals, 9 assists). Opener. #FACup pic.twitter.com/SdHwTYzmB4— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 6, 2019
100 - Raheem Sterling has now been directly involved in 100 goals in 167 appearances for Manchester City in all competitions since joining in 2015, scoring 55 and assisting 45. Century. #FACup pic.twitter.com/NGKSviN6LQ— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 6, 2019
🅰️ @DeBruyneKev
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 6, 2019
⚽️ @sterling7 pic.twitter.com/RP0SP1Gr1p
Gundogan clips a lovely pass over the defence for the youngster, who takes a touch but then sees the ball bounce off his knee which takes it past the keeper. Unlucky for Rotherham, but Foden does not care!
Walker drives down the right and slides a dangerous low cross into the middle, and Ajayi has no option other than to try to clear the danger otherwise Sterling would have been left with a tap-in. The Rotherham defender can only send the ball slamming into his own net, though, and it is well and truly game over now.
City have created almost all of the chances and are clearly the far superior team, but it was only a couple of bad pieces of luck at the end of the half which has taken them away from Rotherham.
The returning Kevin De Bruyne racked up another assist for his tally as he slid the ball in for Sterling inside the area, and the winger took a touch before jinking past a defender and curling his finish into the bottom corner.
It was a lovely pass from Gundogan which created the opening in the first place as he clipped a pass over the defence for Foden. The youngster tried to bring the ball down, but it then deflected in off his knee and past the keeper in fortuitous fashion.
Walker was the main protagonist on that occasion as he exchanged passes on his way down the right flank before firing a low ball into the box which Ajayi fired into his own net when trying to clear the danger. Ajayi had little choice but to try to clear it with Sterling lurking behind him, but he could not get enough on it to loft it over the bar.
👏 | Local lad @philfoden scores his first goal at the Etihad! pic.twitter.com/Iat1YE311X
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 6, 2019
It is all about Sterling as he shows electric pace to burst past Vyner down the left before playing a low pass into the middle which left Jesus with the simplest of finishes.
🍽 | @sterling7 puts it on a plate for @gabrieljesus33 pic.twitter.com/0TAjZGBIIC
— The Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 6, 2019
Just as Spurs did on Friday night, Manchester City hit seven past lower-league opposition on their way into the fourth round of the FA Cup, with seven different players on the scoresheet including an own goal.
The final scoreline is perhaps a little too harsh on the visitors, but there was a glaringly obvious gulf in class between the two sides and Man City were in no mood for mercy.
Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's FA Cup clash between Manchester City and Rotherham as the hosts run riot en route to the fourth round. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too.
From me, though, it is goodbye for now.