Sane ankle injury mars City’s easy win in Wales

CARDIFF CITY 0

MANCHESTERCITY 2

De Bruyne 8, Sterling 37

Manchester City’s hopes of the quadruple remain alive after they advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Cardiff City yesterday. But it came at a price, with manager Pep Guardiola revealing afterwards that Leroy Sane suffered an ankle injury that could sideline him for several weeks.

Sane did not reappear for the second half after the German attacker had been scythed down in first-half stoppage time by a high tackle from Cardiff defender Joe Bennett (who was lucky to only receive a yellow card but did eventually see red late on after another booking).

The nasty tackle even prompted a tweet from the official account of the German national team, which read: “Hey, @Cardiffcityfc. Just letting you know, we have a really important tournament in the summer. Please don’t hurt our players. Thanks, #Diemannschaft”.

Afterwards, Guardiola said: “He will be out for a while – minimum two weeks, three weeks, one month, we will see tomorrow exactly.”

The City manager then called for better protection for his players. “I said many times the only thing they [referees] have to do is protect the players,” he said. “Not the Man City players, all players.”

City were too strong for their Championship opponents and breezed into the next round. Kevin De Bruyne’s eighth-minute free-kick was a candidate for the cheekiest goal of the season as he sent the ball under the Cardiff wall, while Raheem Sterling’s downward header from a Bernardo Silva cross gave City a two-goal cushion before half-time.

Cardiff, with Scotland right-back Callum Paterson playing in an unfamiliar No 10 role, kept the score at 2-0 after the break but never threatened a comeback.