City 5 - 1 Scunthorpe

• Nottingham Forest it was not. For all my fears that this would be something from the bad old days, an unwelcome head-rearing from the monstrous 'typical City', it was turned out to be exactly what it ought to have been: a comfortable and comforting win against lesser opposition, with important goals and minutes from players that needed them.

• With the Premier League as competitive as it is, we cannot afford to risk dropping points by playing weakened teams. So this evening was a welcome chance to give game time to those that needed it most: Vincent Kompany, Roque Santa Cruz, Michael Johnson and Sylvinho.

• And how well it turned out for them! It would have been a success if just one of our players returning to fitness had scored, but goals from both Santa Cruz and Johnson represents a real triumph. Santa Cruz was always going to be a matter of time, but this was Johnson's first for over two years (he missed a penalty in the shootout at FC Midtjylland, remember). Remember how relieving it was when Valeri Bozhinov scored at White Hart Lane in May? Well this is as good as that.

• Before we signed Emmanuel Adebayor I was thrilled at the prospect of the Carlos Tévez/Roque Santa Cruz partnership: an all-South American Rösler and Quinn for the twenty-first century. With Adebayor's signing and Santa Cruz's knee injury this had not materialised until today. But with Adebayor set to spend January in Angola with the Togo national side it was pleasing to hear that that they did so well.

• Fortunately, we have a great record in cup quarter finals. If there is one time when Mark Hughes wants to prove that he has slain the 'typical City' beast once and for all then this is it. Of course we'd love Portsmouth or Blackburn Rovers at home but the chances are we will either get a top team (Chelsea, Arsenal or Manchester United, albeit with changes), or one of our fiercest rivals (Tottenham and Aston Villa.) We're only one game away from a cup semi-final for the first time in ages. This is big.