Young Floyd Samba, a Manchester City player, described his debut with the first team as “amazing” after he scored two goals in the match that ended with Norwich City’s 5-0 victory in the third round of the European Cup at the Etihad Stadium.
The 17-year-old striker – the son of former Blackburn Rovers and QPR defender Chris Samba – took center stage as Enzo Maresca’s heavily rotated side swept aside the Championship rivals with ease to set up a fourth-round clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Samba put the holders on their way early, rising to direct a clever header into the net after good work down the right flank from new team-mate Allan. Rayyan Chergui quickly doubled City’s lead just three minutes later, latching on to a precise pass from Ayoub Boadi to break down Norwich’s high backline.
Allan made it 3-0 shortly after half-time with a sharp solo shot, cutting inside from the left before curling the ball across goal. Samba then capped off his dream evening with City’s fourth goal just before the hour mark, curling a stunning shot into the net from a similar angle as his proud father watched from the stands. Fellow academy talent Ryan Macaidu added a fifth goal in the last minute to complete the rout.
Talk after the gameSamba thought when he learned that he was in line for minutes against the Canary Islands.
He said: “Right before yesterday’s game, the day before – I knew there would be a chance to get some minutes for the first team. To make my debut like this is amazing. I couldn’t believe it myself – but this is just the beginning, I have a big career ahead of me. It’s been a great start.”
The teenager, who has been part of City’s academy since under-9 level, admitted that the transition from youth football to senior level was a huge test both physically and tactically.
He said: “I couldn’t be happier now, being my debut for the first team, you have to expect everything to go well, the intensity, the level of players, everything is rising and you have to be able to keep up with that and deal with it, and I think I did a good job of that.”
English League Cup: Fourth round
Matches scheduled to be played in the week commencing 26 October 2026
- Fleetwood Town vs Arsenal
- Manchester City vs Brighton
- Everton vs Newcastle
- Sunderland vs Brentford
- Liverpool at Chelsea
- Bradford City vs Peterborough
- Fulham vs Crystal Palace
- Bournemouth x Aston Villa
