Floyd Samba scores twice as Manchester City cruise past Norwich

Floyd Samba marked his Manchester City senior debut with two goals as Enzo Maresca’s side began their Carabao Cup campaign with a 5-0 victory over Norwich.

The 17-year-old was among 10 changes made by Maresca after Sunday’s dramatic Manchester derby win, but made an immediate case for a first-team role this season with a composed performance in attack.

Samba, the son of former Blackburn Rovers and Queens Park Rangers defender Chris Samba, said he was astonished by the way his first appearance unfolded.

“To get a debut like that is mind-blowing. I couldn’t believe it myself,” he said.

“But that’s just the beginning, I’ve got a big career ahead of me. It was a great debut.”

Maresca explained that Samba had been given an unfamiliar role as a central striker, despite having never played as a number nine before.

“I asked him in the last three or four days when I decided to play him as a nine – I asked him if he had played that role and he said he had never played there before,” Maresca said.

“He’s very good at finishing so I think it was a good game for him.”

Samba put City ahead after Norwich goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw failed to deal with Allan Elias’ cross, allowing the teenager to stoop and head the ball into the net.

Rayan Cherki made it 2-0 before Allan celebrated his first appearance since joining from Palmeiras with an impressive individual goal. The Brazilian midfielder collected possession shortly after half-time, drove through the Norwich defence and found the far corner.

Samba then completed his double with a fine curling finish, taking advantage of further defensive uncertainty from the Championship side.

Ryan McAidoo added a fifth late in the match to send City into the last 16, where they will face Brighton.

Although pleased with Samba’s display, Maresca said he would manage expectations around the young player.

“He is not a nine for sure but he was good,” the City manager said. “He is young, full of energy, he is strong, he can finish and he made some good decisions, some passes to team-mates.

“So I am happy, but again, they are young and we need to go slowly with them.”

The result preserved Maresca’s perfect record since taking charge of City, with six successive victories across three competitions.

He also indicated that the youngsters selected against Norwich should have further chances during the campaign, including in the Premier League and Champions League.

“We have different competitions. We have many games,” Maresca said. “We are just at the beginning of the season. For sure, the ones that played tonight during the season will play Premier League games and Champions League games as the season is so long.”

City return to Premier League action on Sunday, when they host Sunderland at the Etihad Stadium.