The king of the Coppa Italia, Roberto Mancini took his first step towards success in the English equivalent when his Manchester City side won 1-0 at Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round.
Mancini won the Italian Cup six times as a player and four as a coach and, having overseen two league victories since replacing Mark Hughes at City, watched his new team advance comfortably with a late first-half goal by striker Benjani Mwaruwari against the second division hosts. The final might seem a long way away but Mancini can take heart from the fact that in the last five years the team who have knocked Middlesbrough out have reached the final – albeit without going on to win it.
In a third-round day short on shocks, last season’s runners-up Everton beat Carlisle 3-1, Spurs thrashed Peterborough 4-0 and Fulham beat Swindon Town 1-0. I
In two all-Premier League ties Aston Villa beat ten-man Blackburn 3-1 and Wigan defeated Hull 4-1.
Liverpool (1-1 away to Reading), Portsmouth (1-1 at home to Coventry City) and Birmingham (0-0 away to Nottingham Forest) all require replays against second-tier sides.
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