Chelsea may not have provided much opposition in the FA Cup but Manchester City still showed terrific quality to beat them.
The third goal was the pick of the bunch, and the returning Kyle Walker was instrumental to the move. Some fancy footwork and then a pinpoint crossfield ball set them on their way, but it was the terrific burst of pace into the box to give Riyad Mahrez an underlap before squaring for Phil Foden to turn home that really impressed.
For a team accused recently of being too slow in possession, getting your fastest player to charge into the box for an assist is certainly a way of changing the narrative. That extra dimension to City's attack doesn't have to be used every time but is another very useful way of unlocking defences.
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Even more significant than his role in the third goal was Walker's attitude. Committed throughout, there was a jump and roar to the crowd as he celebrated Julian Alvarez's penalty goal to put 2-0 up.
It gave City a goal cushion but there will be far bigger games for the team this season, yet Walker celebrated as if he were in a final. That is exactly the kind of hunger that Guardiola referenced after the match as the behaviour he wants to see from his players.
Speaking at the training ground this week, the England right-back spoke about City's Carabao Cup win in 2017 as a pivotal moment in his career realising that he was good enough to win trophies. "I had been there and kind of just participated in them because teams that I played with or played for, we never knew really how to really have that winning mentality," he said.
Walker has not lost that motivation and his - and the team's - ability to be up for every single moment whether it is a final or the second goal in an FA Cup fourth round tie has been integral to their haul of silverware. For a 32-year-old to still be as motivated after five years of winning plenty at the Etihad bodes well for the club moving forwards and stops complacency setting in.
Of course, the manager has and will still be looking at the body language of his players in training and around the Etihad Campus, and the fact Walker hasn't played recently suggested he wasn't quite right before Guardiola confirmed that was the case this week. Such a performance against Chelsea then will hugely encourage the coach because, as he has said, they need Walker at his best.
As long as he can steer clear of injury, City shouldn't have any more problems with Walker this season.
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