Tottenham ultimately sealed their passage through to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 win against Wycombe, but the side bottom of the Championship made Jose Mourinho's men sweat.
The visitors deployed a much-changed side and fell behind when Fred Onyedinma struck midway through the first half. Gareth Bale levelled on the stroke of half-time and the hosts gave out late on as Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele (twice) found the net in the last four minutes.
WBA 0-5 Manchester City: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats
So who were the best and worst players on the pitch?
✔️ GOOD PERFORMANCE
Joao Cancelo 8.7
The right-back proved to be something of a game breaker for City. Having been frustrated against WBA to such a tremendous extent a month ago, Pep Guardiola would have wished a quick start to the game, and the Portuguese helped them get it.
He fashioned the opening goal for Ilkay Gundogan with a deft pass through the centre of the home defence.
Quarter of an hour later, he had got himself on the scoresheet, bending home a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box. It was a controversial strike, however, as assistant referee Sian Massey had raised her flag earlier in the move and several WBA defenders seemed to lose their intensity after she did so.
✖ BAD PERFORMANCE
Sam Johnstone 4.0
The former Manchester United goalkeeper is a highly prized talent, but this was a night to forget.
He had only six shots on target to cope with and was only able to keep one of them out. It was a sharp contrast to the experience he enjoyed against City last time the teams met, when he was the undoubted man of the match.
⭐ STAR MAN
Ilkay Gundogan 9.5
Gundogan has never been a midfielder particularly noted for his attacking acumen until recent weeks. Indeed, he only had 16 league goals when he arrived at City in 2016, and before this terms had added another 13 to his tally.
In his last nine league games, however, he has found the net seven times.
Two of these goals came against West Brom on Wednesday, with the German showing movement the best strikers would be proud of to open the scoring.
Two shots, two goals and two touches in the box. Now that’s efficiency.
WBA 0-5 Manchester City: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats