The danger, though, is that they're exposed on the break and they're lucky that Foden doesn't make it 5-1 late on here - he shoots wide from Angelino's cross.
90' +3
Credit to Vale that even in the 93rd minute they're pressing City high up the pitch and winning the ball back in dangerous areas, trying to launch a counter-attack.
90' +1
BROWN SAVES! Even late on, Brown is still alert and reads Mahrez well, coming off his line to close the substitute down and make the save.
88'
Vale keep coming though to their credit and have a throw in City's half. They've fought hard today, despite the scoreline not looking particularly flattering to them.
86'
City have a corner late on and it's Doyle to take, but Brown punches clear. He doesn't get it fully away though and Zinchenko miskicks an attempt from the edge of the box.
79'
M. Cullen enters the game and replaces T. Pope.
Vale make their final change of the game, taking off Pope - who did manage to grab a goal - to introduce Cullen.
Doyle - the 17-year-old - is making just his second appearance of the season, after playing the full game against Southampton in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.
77'
R. Mahrez enters the game and replaces Bernardo Silva.
T. Doyle enters the game and replaces İ. Gündoğan.
And substitution number two sees Gundogan come off for Doyle.
Two City changes in the offing, the first of which sees Bernardo make way for Mahrez.
76'
P. Foden has scored a goal for Manchester City! Assist by Angeliño.
GOAL! 4-1 CITY! Foden gets in on the act! He nets his third goal of the season to put City into the fourth round. What a pass from Gundogan in the build-up and Angelino hits it across goal first-time for Foden to convert.
Time and time again Angelino has got in behind the Vale defence, but not once have they been able to deal with his threat. It pays off this time and he gets an assist.
75'
Vale with a half-chance here as they win back possession in a dangerous area, but Pope's throughball is cut out before it can cause any damage.
72'
Bernardo's in behind here and crosses to Angelino at the back post. He gets it under control to tee up Silva for the shot, but the Spaniard is on the turn and can't wrap his foot around the ball enough to get it on target.
Minute
Description
69'
CHANCE! Bernardo spots Cancelo at the edge of the box and picks him out, the right-back then helping the ball onto Foden, but he shoots wide.
67'
City are firmly in control now. They're just passing their way around their opponents and you can see the toll it's taking on Vale, having to constantly shuffle from one side to the other to keep pace with City's passing.
65'
Vale in possession and they win a free-kick in the centre circle. They're eager to get going again and take the set piece quickly, working the ball back to Brown in goal.
61'
T. Conlon enters the game and replaces S. Burgess.
W. Atkinson enters the game and replaces J. Taylor.
Vale make their first change of the game, taking off Taylor for Atkinson.
And a second change for the visitors as Burgess comes off for Conlon.
58'
T. Harwood-Bellis has scored a goal for Manchester City! Assist by J. Stones.
You can hardly call this Harwood-Bellis' goal as he did very little to make it happen other than get in the way of Stones' shot, but that's how it'll go down, so Stones gets the assist.
GOAL! 3-1 CITY! It's Harwood-Bellis for breathing room! Foden plays the initial pass, Aguero is at the back post to guide it back across goal and Stones sees the loose ball, pounces on it and tucks it beyond Brown, with it taking a touch off the teenager on the way. It stands after a VAR check.
55'
It goes to show that there will be little half-chances in this for Vale. A loose City pass here or a missed interception there - the holders don't look as focussed as they perhaps should - but it's up to the visitors to make the most of these small opportunities.
53'
Here come Vale though and Worrall nearly manages to turn past Harwood-Bellis and get into the box for a shot, but he loses the ball.
46'
KICK-OFF! City restart the game looking to add to their one-goal lead.
Aguero almost makes it 3-1 immediately but he shoots over the bar from an Angelino cutback.
45' +1
HALF-TIME: MANCHESTER CITY 2-1 PORT VALE.
42'
S. Agüero has scored a goal for Manchester City! Assist by P. Foden.
As it turns out, great play from Foden to hold his run and stay onside to fizz Silva's pass across goal into Aguero.
GOAL! 2-1 CITY! Aguero hardly celebrates as he puts City back in front. Excellent football to get in behind their opponents here. Silva with the searching pass wide to Foden and he knocks the ball back across goal first-time for Aguero to tap in. It's being checked for a potential offside by the VAR, but it stands.
41'
Vale have a free-kick inside City's half and it's a good chance to get a delivery into the box. The ball comes in towards Adoo at the back post, but City get it clear.
39'
Conceding a goal seems to have woken City up and they're playing with extra purpose now, but still they resort to shooting from distance - Silva this time, failing to test Brown.
35'
T. Pope has scored a goal for Port Vale! Assist by D. Amoo.
GOAAAAAL! IT'S POPE FOR 1-1! He's on his way to 40 goals! What a header, what a moment for the travelling fans! He gets in front of Harwood-Bellis and stoops low to guide the cross beyond Bravo and into the left of the goal.
Amoo is the architecht of what could be a massive goal for Vale! He does extremely well to fight for that yard of space ahead of Angelino and manages to float a great ball into Pope for the header.
34'
Just as Vale look to hold onto the ball for a brief spell, a loose pass sends Motano chasing and he ends up giving away a foul as the move breaks down.
32'
Patient football from City as they work that left-hand triangle between Silva, Zinchenko and Angelino, but Vale are retaining their shape well and force their hosts to switch play to the other side of the pitch.
30'
City keep the pressure on and Aguero nearly plays the perfect pass for Foden to run onto, but he ends up sending him to the sideline. Foden does well to rescue the situation though and it results in a blocked Zinchenko shot to win a corner.
24'
Cancelo now feeding Foden on the overlap out on the right, but his cross fizzes unattacked across goal all the way to Angelino on the left to win a corner on that side.
20'
GOAL! 1-0 CITY! Zinchenko opens the scoring from long range! He sees Brown comes off his line, takes a touch and unleashes a fierce shot from outside the box that finds the bottom-right corner. It may have taken a touch off a Vale defender on the way in, but only a faint one. No matter, they all count!
Gundogan gets the assist, but there's no dressing this one up. It's a pass into Zinchenko, who absolutely does all the rest.
19'
O. Zinchenko has scored a goal for Manchester City! Assist by İ. Gündoğan.
17'
CHANCE! Silva combines with Bernardo on the left to create space for a cross and he dinks the ball into Foden - who's totally unmarked - but his header isn't strong enough and Brown palms it into the ground.
15'
Zinchenko tries to feed Silva with a threaded throughball, but it's cut out. Not enough to stop the waves of City attacks though, and the home side come again.
13'
You can see what's happening here. It's City dominating possession - as you'd expect - and trying to suffocate their opponents. There's no rush, they know they'll get ample opportunity to break them down. It's a case now of dragging the Vale defenders out of position and tiring them out.
7'
As it goes, Pope will be the weapon for the visitors today. He's six foot three and could enjoy himself up against the teenage Harwood-Bellis, who doesn't have much experience against physical opponents from the lower leagues.
5'
It's refreshing to see Vale come to Etihad Stadium and try and attack City when they're in possession, but how long can it last? City need just one opportunity to make something happen.
3'
Manchester City show what they're capable of with a fast break into the Vale box, but Aguero is offside for Angelino's cross and the visitors have a free-kick.
1'
KICK-OFF! We're underway in this FA Cup third round tie.
Early chance for Port Vale as Pope cuts the ball back for Burgess arriving at the edge of the box, but it takes a deflection for a Vale corner.
Hello and welcome to this FA Cup third round tie between Manchester City and Port Vale.
City won their second FA Cup of the previous decade last season - as part of their historic domestic quadruple - and haven’t lost in the tournament since January 2018, when they were beaten 1-0 by Wigan in the fifth round. But can the Valiants live up to their nickname and slay the Premier League giant today?
MANCHESTER CITY XI (4-3-3): Claudio Bravo; Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Angelino; David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Bernardo Silva, Sergio Aguero, Phil Foden.
SUBS: Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez, Scott Carson Eric Garcia, Tommy Doyle.
PORT VALE XI (4-4-2): Scott Brown; James Gibbons, Nathan Smith, Leon Legge, Scott Burgess; David Worrall, Luke Joyce, Jake Taylor, Cristian Montano; Tom Pope, David Amoo.
SUBS: Tom Conlon, Will Atkinson, Mark Cullen, Rhys Browne, Richie Bennett, Sean Brisley, Jonny Maddison.
Don’t go anywhere because the teams are out and kick-off is up next!
Vale aren't totally out of this game though, especially with City just one ahead. If they come out of the break aggressively, perhaps there's another goal in this for them. They've faced four shots on target - excluding one Silva effort that hit the bar - but City naturally aren't playing in their top gear, something the visitors can take advantage of.
City then into the hat for the fourth round and they'll find out their opponents on Monday. Before the next round, though, they're back in EFL Cup action with the first leg of their all-Manchester semi-final at Old Trafford on Tuesday. As for Port Vale, attention turns back to League Two, with a trip to Salford up next on Tuesday.
That's all from us as City beat Port Vale 4-1 in the third round of the FA Cup. Thanks for staying with us and goodbye for now!
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