Manchester City Under-18s beat Chelsea 4-1 in the FA Youth Cup on Monday night to continue their staggering season.
Tyrone Samba in FA Youth Cup action
Manchester City's Under-18s are into the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals after beating Chelsea
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The celebrations might have been more muted than those at Anfield, but the result was equally seismic. While Manchester City reignited their Premier League title hopes at Liverpool on Sunday, a little over 24 hours later the Blues' Under-18s completed a stunning away win of their own.
Oli Reiss' men won 4-1 at Chelsea in the last-16 of the FA Youth Cup with a commanding second half showing to move into the quarter-finals. It was the latest in a long line of standout displays from City this season with the Blues running away with the U18 Premier Division North.
The youngsters have 12 wins from 13 games and look a certainty to win the title this season. But a trip to the capital to take on Chelsea, a club with pedigree in the Youth Cup and one who are unbeaten at the top of the U18 Premier League South, was a daunting prospect.
The two could yet meet in the Under-18 final later in the season which pits the north and south champions against each other for the overall trophy. If they do, City will go there with the psychological blow of having humbled the Londoners on their own turf.
A goalless first half gave way to a four-goal blitz from City, who broke the deadlock just 16 seconds after the restart thanks to Floyd Samba. Quickfire strikes from Dante Headley and Xavier Parker just after the hour took the game away from Chelsea before Ryan McAidoo, a former Chelsea player who impressed on his senior City debut against Exeter in the FA Cup last month, added a late fourth. Even a Chelsea consolation couldn't take the shine off the imperious performance.
McAidoo is perhaps the headline name in City's class of 2026, but Samba is fast making a name for himself while Reigan Heskey has a bright future and Kaden Braithwaite already has senior appearances under his belt.
But more pertinently - certainly for coach Reiss - is the cohesion and desire of the group rather than a reliance on individuals.
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"We know how good our players are and the potential of them, but it's not enough to just have 11 good players on the pitch," he said after the win over Chelsea.
"We need to be connected, have good communication, support each other and to just have the same energy at the same time and the same idea of playing football.”
City are certainly in sync just now. Next on the fixture list is a derby date with Manchester United on Saturday morning. The Blues have a four point lead over the Reds at the top of the table, but Reiss' side have three games in hand. A win over United would stretch the advantage to seven and leave City with one hand on the league title. You wouldn't bet against them making it a double by winning the FA Youth Cup, as well.