Source: PA
Villa crash out of cup
Manchester City are just a home win over Reading away from their first FA Cup semi-final since 1981 after a thumping 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.
Gerard Houllier must bear the brunt of the Villa fans' ire after making eight changes to his latest Premier League starting line-up for a game against talented but tired opponents, with lower-league opposition the prize for victory.
None of this will bother City fans, who can once again think about ending 35 years without a trophy after being set on their way by a fourth-minute opener from Yaya Toure.
Villa were unfortunate in the sense Patrick Vieira's fourth-minute header struck Ciaran Clark after Aleksandar Kolarov had swung in a corner. The bounce fell perfectly for Toure, who duly smashed home from three yards.
Mario Balotelli made it two soon after as his superb reading of Toure's through-ball allowed him to streak clear of the Villa defence after 25 minutes
David Silva capped his vintage performance by wrapping things up when, after Clark made the fatal mistake of nodding Pablo Zabaleta's cross into his path, he fired a blistering shot into the bottom corner.
