Sterling, De Bruyne star as Man City sweep past Rotherham in FA Cup

Manchester City cruised into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a routine 7-0 victory over Championship strugglers Rotherham at the Etihad.

Pep Guardiola named a strong team including Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne following the 2-1 win over Liverpool on Thursday and De Bruyne was at his incisive best, setting up Sterling for the opener in the rout. Phil Foden added another on 43 minutes before Semi Ajayi's own goal made it 3-0 at the break. 

And it got worse for Rotherham eight minutes into the second half when Gabriel Jesus made it four from close range. Jesus' strike atoned for a couple of glaring misses early on and his effort that hit the bar after only two minutes set the tone for a difficult afternoon for Rotherham.

Riyad Mahrez swept the ball home after great work from Ilkay Gundogan on 73 minutes and Nicolas Otamendi then added a sixth with a towering header as Guardiola's men humiliated a side 21st in the Championship. Leroy Sane, on as a substitute, then made it 7-0 with his tenth of the season five minutes from time.

De Bruyne, who has struggled with injuries throughout the season, was central to most of City's attacking play on an easy afternoon for the Premier League champions. The Belgium international was withdrawn with 20 minutes to go and could feature again in City's next match, a Carabao Cup semifinal first leg against Burton Albion on Wednesday.