Manchester City eased past Norwich in the EFL Cup third round match on Thursday 17 September, 2026 at Etihad Stadium with teenager Floyd Samba netting twice in each half of the game.
The thumping means the Cityzens have kicked off their EFL Cup title defence.
Born in Macclesfield, England, Samba is the son of former Premier League defender Christopher Samba. The 17-year old’s brace helped the home side easily dump out their Championship opponents to progress in the competition.
Enzo Maresca’s side found the breakthrough in the 29th minute when Samba converted an assist from Brazilian attacking midfielder, Allan Elias; Samba headed in a cross from Allan to give the hosts the lead.
Rayan Cherki made it two for City in the 32nd minute after calmly finishing off a pass from Ayyoub Bouaddi.
Three (3) minutes into the second half, Elias scored the third with a low finish, converting an assist from Algerian defender, Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Ait-Nouri, once again was the provider as he released for Samba, who netted the fourth for Manchester City with a beautiful curl, and Ryan McAidoo scored the fifth in the 90th minute after Nico O’Reilly had provided.
Norwich thought they had found a consolation, however, substitute Mohamed Toure’s goal was chalked off for offside, and City’s clean sheet untampered.
The outcome means Manchester City will face Brighton and Hove Albion in the fourth round of the competition after the Seagulls came from two (2) goals behind to knock out Michael Carrick’s Manchester United in their third round showdown on Wednesday 16 September, 2026 inside Old Trafford.
Next for Manchester City?
Manchester City will now shift focus to the Premier League match against Sunderland on Sunday 20 September, 2026 at Etihad Stadium at 14:00 (WAT).
The Black Cats emerged victorious in the Uefa Europa League 2026/27 League Phase match against Dutch Eredivisie side, AZ Alkmaar, by a lone goal on Wednesday 16 September, 2026 at Stadium of Light, Sunderland.
Maresca will be eyeing maximum points when his side collides with Sunderland on home soil to preserve the outstanding start to his tenure as head coach of Manchester City.
