London: Manchester City continued their pursuit of silverware on four fronts by hammering Burnley 5-0 Saturday to take their goal tally this year to 30 in seven matches in all competitions.
Pep Guardiola’s side however, were upstaged as AFC Wimbledon, bottom of England’s third-tier League One and 58 rungs below West Ham on the English football ladder, reminded a television audience of what makes the FA Cup so intoxicating.
AFC Wimbledon proved that the spirit of one of the FA Cup’s craziest stories lives on by toppling West Ham 4-2 in a sizzling fourth-round duel.
West Ham made six changes from the side that played in their last Premier League match but still had players such as Andy Carroll, Javier Hernandez and Mark Noble on the pitch.
They were swept aside, though, as Kwesi Appiah put AFC Wimbledon ahead and Scott Wagstaff’s sublime double either side of halftime took them 3-0 up against Manuel Pellegrini’s team.
Spaniard Lucas Perez pulled one back for West Ham and when Brazilian substitute Felipe Anderson curled in a free kick with 20 minutes left it seemed the hosts might crumble. But substitute Toby Sibbick put the issue beyond doubt with a powerful header for Wimbledon.
Burnley made seven changes to their line-up for the visit to City and paid the price as Guardiola’s side ran riot.
Gabriel Jesus put City ahead with a fine strike after 23 minutes. Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero also scored, with a Kevin Long own goal completing the demolition.
Reuters