Floyd Samba made a spectacular first-team debut as Manchester City began their Carabao Cup title defence with a 5–0 victory over Norwich City at the Etihad Stadium. The 17-year-old scored twice in an unfamiliar centre-forward role, while Rayan Cherki, fellow debutant Allan and Ryan McAidoo also found the net.
Samba opened the scoring in the 29th minute, flicking a header into the net after Allan hooked Nico O’Reilly’s cross back into the danger area. Three minutes later, Samba helped create City’s second by holding up the ball before Ayyoub Bouaddi released Cherki to score.
Allan made it 3–0 shortly after the interval, cutting in from the left and firing past Norwich goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw. Samba then scored his second in the 54th minute, curling a composed finish into the far corner after Norwich lost possession following their restart. McAidoo completed the rout in the 90th minute.
Maresca had promoted Samba from the academy after a prolific under-18 season and took a calculated risk by using a natural central midfielder as a No. 9. The manager said he had asked Samba in the preceding days whether he had previously played as a striker, only to be told that he had not.
“He is not a nine for sure, but he was good. Not just for the two goals, for the entire performance he was good.”
The performance carried family significance. Samba is the son of former Blackburn Rovers and Queens Park Rangers defender Christopher Samba, who made 171 Premier League appearances, while his older brother Tyrone is also part of Manchester City’s academy.
Samba joined City’s academy at under-nine level and had earned promotion to the first-team setup after scoring 24 goals and contributing 10 assists for the under-18s last season. He also scored a free-kick in City’s FA Youth Cup final win over Manchester United in May.
The result sent holders City into the fourth round, where they will host Brighton & Hove Albion during the week commencing October 26. It also continued the momentum from their Premier League derby win at Manchester United, but the cup victory should not be counted as proof of a five-match winning run without a complete fixture-by-fixture check.
