Manchester City ran riot against Exeter City this weekend to kickstart their FA Cup campaign with a huge win.
Pep Guardiola’s side thrashed their third-tier visitors 10-1 at the Etihad, just the 66th time a team has scored 10+ goals in a competitive fixture in English football.
City’s massive win saw Antoine Semenyo score on his debut, with Rico Lewis also netting a brace. Exeter’s misery was compounded by two own goals that added further gloss to an emphatic scoreline.
The win saw the Citizens become the first top-flight team to score 10 goals in a match for 40 years. However, it still fell significantly short of breaking the record for the biggest winning margin in FA Cup history.
10 – Manchester City are the first English top-flight side to score 10+ goals in a match in any competition since Liverpool beat Fulham 10-0 in the League Cup in September 1986, and first to do so in the FA Cup since Tottenham Hotspur beat Crewe 13-2 in February 1960. Rampage. pic.twitter.com/V5Wd5qBs2Q
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 10, 2026
That honour belongs to Preston North End, who humiliated Hyde 26-0 in October 1887. Jimmy Ross scored seven goals for Preston in that clash, with Preston eventually reaching the final before losing to West Bromwich Albion.
However, the following season, Preston became the inaugural Football League winners and secured a domestic double with FA Cup success, without losing a game.
The Lilywhites also hold the second-highest scoreline in FA Cup history, after beating Reading 18-0 in 1984. The eight biggest FA Cup scorelines all occurred in the 19th century.
The biggest FA Cup wins of all time
- Preston North End 26-0 Hyde – 15/10/1887
- Preston North End 18-0 Reading – 27/01/1894
- Wanderers 16-0 Farningham – 31/10/1874
- Royal Engineers 15-0 High Wycombe – 10/11/1875
- Clapham Rovers 15-0 Finchley – 13/11/1880
- Darwen 15-0 Romford – 05/03/1881
- Queen’s Park (Glasgow) 15-0 Manchester – 01/12/1883
- Notts County 15-0 Rotherham Town – 24/10/1885
Read –Â Five of the biggest FA Cup third round upsets
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