City out of the FA Cup as pressure grows on Mancini

Honeymoons do not last long at Premier League clubs, particularly those with ambitions as lofty as Manchester City, and Roberto Mancini's rapid fall from grace continued as his side were booted out of the FA Cup by unfashionable Stoke.

Fans of the Potters took great delight in telling Mancini that he was "getting sacked in the morning" as their team romped to a 3-1 win in extra time at the Britannia Stadium. It might not be that bad yet, but the problems are mounting for the suave Italian who arrived at Eastlands just two months ago.

The City boss, who began his reign by promising to tear down the banner at Old Trafford that celebrates City's 34 years without a trophy, was forced to swap such rhetoric for the language of a luckless manager who has seen his side's final chance of some silverware disappear.

"My opinion is that we played very well. We dominated the game and had six or seven chances to score a goal," he said, before bemoaning the sending off of Emmanuel Adebayor with seven minutes left of normal time and the score level at 1-1. The striker was given his marching orders after catching Ryan Shawcross with an arm and his dismissal handed Stoke the advantage.

City had forced extra time thanks to Craig Bellamy's equaliser, which came shortly after Dave Kitson's 79th minute goal had put Stoke in front. But Stoke made their extra man count in the final half-hour and goals from Shawcross and Tuncay earned the home side a quarter-final berth.

Mancini has now won just two of his last eight matches in all competitions and has seen his side knocked out of the FA and Carling Cups. Given that Mark Hughes was given such a short time to achieve success - and failed - Mancini must now secure fourth place in the table and a Champions League spot or face a similar fate to Hughes.

The Italian maintained that he was not feeling the pressure, despite reported bust-ups with several players including Craig Bellamy and Carlos Tevez, but the game against Chelsea now takes on huge significance for City.

Elsewhere in the quarter final replays, Roman Pavlyuchenko scored twice as Spurs beat Bolton 4-0, John Carew scored two penalties as Aston Villa knocked out Championship side Crystal Palace  3-1 and Reading continued their great run as they beat West Brom 3-2 after extra time. ·