Playing against an English League Two team to advance exposes Manchester City's problems; many players can't even grasp League Two level, leaving Guardiola dissatisfied.

Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two — Manchester City's 2-0 victory over Salford City in the FA Cup fifth round came against a fourth-division opponent. Gueye netted his debut goal for City as a substitute, yet Guardiola expressed strong disappointment with the team's overall display. Post-match, Guardiola stated he was unhappy with the performance despite the win, with progression being the only good outcome.

In this match, Guardiola made extensive changes to the lineup,deploying a 4-2-3-1 formation with Marmoush pushed forward, Shelvey behind him, Foden and Reynders on the flanks, Lewis and Nico partnering in defensive midfield, and a back four of Ake, Husainov, Stones, and Nuri, with Trafford in goal; the starting eleven's total market value reached €459 million.Meanwhile, their opponents Salford City (using a 3-5-2 formation) had a starting lineup valued at only €2.88 million. This was supposed to be a mismatch in strength, but Manchester City's substitutes played like a bunch of amateurs, completely matching the pace of a League Two side until Rodri came on and stabilized things. It turns out players like Foden, Lewis, and Reynders are only suited for substitute roles at City and were totally out of form. Guardiola should stop experimenting; Lewis clearly lacks the ability to play defensive midfield — he doesn’t even understand League Two level, let alone the Premier League.

Throughout the entire match,Manchester City held 80% possession and had 19 shots, with 4 on target; Salford City managed 6 shots, 4 of which were on target.. The starting lineups differed in value by 159 times, yet the shots on target ratio was just 4 to 2 — these stark statistics clearly reveal how poor Manchester City's substitute squad was.