Peterborough 0-2 Manchester City: Player ratings as Cityzens cruise into FA Cup quarter-finals

Manchester City secured progression into the last eight of the FA Cup on Tuesday night, seeing off a spirited Peterborough side 2-0.

The Premier League leaders struggled to make a tangible impact on proceedings in the first half, although found their clinical touch after the break as goals from Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish made all of Pep Guardiola's side's ball retention pay dividends.

City probed for the breakthrough from the first whistle, even playing the ball around inside the Peterborough penalty area at times, just waiting to break through a wall of blue.

It would be, however, the hosts that came closest in the early stages. Latching onto a long ball forward, Jeando Fuchs surged into the box before seeing his deflected effort sharply palmed around the post.

Peterborough were never scared to break forward in numbers, but were resigned to holding a defensive line 18-yards out from goal for the majority of the opening period. For all their pressure and possession inside the hosts' half, however, City struggled to really penetrate Posh's backline and were generally underwhelming.

Ilkay Gundogan threatened Steven-Andreas Benda's goal most for the visitors, as his speculative curling effort from around 20 yards out whistled just wide of the post, while Gabriel Jesus also might have found the opener.

The Brazilian, however, missed a gilt-edged chance to give his side the lead on the stroke of half time, air-kicking at the ball after bringing down Joao Cancelo's sumptuous lofted pass and subsequently giving the home faithful something to laugh about.

Peterborough, despite seeing City play around their box at will, went into the break the happier of the two sides with their visitors failing to register an effort on target - despite boasting 77% of possession, ten corners and seven more shots on goal than the hosts.

If Grant McCann's men were content before the break, they must've been jumping for joy after a blistering start to the second half in which they broke into City's box twice inside a few minutes of the restart. Some poor finishing and a fantastic bit of defensive diligence by Phil Foden, however, made sure that the hosts didn't find a surprise breakthrough.

Peterborough's joy was relatively short-lived, though, when Mahrez showed why his side is top of the Premier League on the hour mark. The Algerian picked up Foden's ball on the right wing before racing into the box, putting together a few stepovers and giving Benda no chance as he nonchalantly curled the ball into the far corner.

It would take the Cityzens just seven minutes to double their lead and seal their hosts' fate, as Grealish notched his first ever FA Cup goal. Foden got the assist again, with a simply awe-inspiring long diagonal that was brought down delightfully by Grealish, who had no trouble in slotting home past the onrushing Benda.

Grealish went closest to making it three late on, only to see an outstretched Benda just about get his fingers to a stunning effort destined to nestle in the top corner, while half-time substitute Aymeric Laporte also somehow failed to convert a chance from about two yards out.

With a place in the quarter finals secured, Guardiola's men will now return to Premier League matters with a mouth-watering encounter with city rivals Manchester United in store, before playing out the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie against Sporting next week.

Manchester City player ratings

1. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Ederson (GK) - 7/10 - Great save to deny Peterborough an early opener and remained as alert as ever thereafter.

Joao Cancelo (RB) - 7/10 - So dangerous, showing great skill when venturing upfield, as well as defending fantastically when called upon.

Ruben Dias (CB) - 6/10 - Was pretty solid, staying strong on the rare occasion he was tasked with defensive duties, but was taken off at the break.

Nathan Ake (CB) - 4/10 - A little frenzied and shaky, notably being caught out by Fuchs for Posh's early opportunity, and was also brought off at the interval having been booked.

Oleksandr Zinchenko (LB) - 8/10 - As stoic and resilient as his compatriots, Zinchenko was a defensive wall, making none ball recoveries, while also building play excellently on the front foot.

2. Midfielders

Fernandinho (DM) - 7/10 - Cool and efficient, screening the back four brilliantly and spraying play progressively throughout.

Ilkay Gundogan (CM) - 6/10 - A good all-action display, but was overshadowed somewhat by his midfield colleagues.

Phil Foden (CM) - 9/10 - Woke up after the interval, immediately producing an exceptional bit of defending to keep the game goalless before turning on the style with some brilliant progressive play - notably getting the assists for his side's strikes. Magical second half performance.

3. Forwards

Riyad Mahrez (RW) - 8/10 - Some lovely bits of trickery in the final third and, having represented one of his side's biggest threats, finally made the hosts pay with a delicious goal to open the scoring.

Gabriel Jesus (ST) - 3/10 - Incessant press from the off but fairly absent in front of goal. Should have scored at the end of the first half, only to comically fluff his lines.

Jack Grealish (LW) - 8/10 - Looked sharp and creative throughout, showing neat feet in congested spaces. Was a major threat, registering five key passes, and deservedly scored a lovely goal to put the tie to bed.

4. Substitutes

Aymeric Laporte (CB) - 7/10 - Somehow missed at the death, but defended well and was more effective in holding an advanced position to pin Peterborough back than the starting centre-back partnership, aiding City's ruthless domination after the interval.

John Stones (CB) - 6/10 - Not tasked with that much, but didn't do anything wrong - so that's good, I suppose.