Manchester City moved into the FA Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, defeating Aston Villa 3-0 at home and keeping alive their pursuit of a first major trophy in 35 years. Yaya Toure, Mario Balotelli, and David Silva were the scorers, all but settling the tie before the hour mark.
Toure opened the account after just five minutes, converting from close range after an Aleksandar Kolarov corner deflected off Villa defender Ciaran Clark. Balotelli doubled the lead midway through the first half, meeting a long Toure ball and stroking a half-volley past goalkeeper Brad Friedel. It was City's second heavy win over Villa at the same ground in three months, following a 4-0 result in December.
Villa showed more intent after the break and forced a few saves from Joe Hart, but could not get back into the contest. Balotelli was booked for elbowing Chris Herd and withdrawn on the hour. Silva wrapped things up shortly after, collecting a loose header and finishing calmly with 20 minutes left.
Gerard Houllier had opted to rest several first-team regulars, a decision that proved costly. Roberto Mancini rotated similarly, with Wednesday's match his side's seventh in a month. City will host Championship side Reading in the last eight.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in March 2011, in its own words.