Samba overjoyed after 'mind-blowing' debut

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Samba overjoyed after 'mind-blowing' debut

Samba overjoyed after 'mind-blowing' debut

Manchester City FC

Thu, Sep 17, 2026 ·

2 min read

Debut delight for Samba and Allan as City power past Norwich

The 17-year-old commenced the scoring at the Etihad Stadium with a clever header from fellow debutant Allan's cross.

Rayan Cherki swiftly made it 2-0, before Allan added a wonderful third shortly after the half-time interval.

Samba curled in a splendid fourth before the hour mark and Ryan McAidoo added a late fifth as we began our defence of the Carabao Cup in perfect fashion.

Samba. who joined our Academy at Under-9s level, was delighted with the impact he made on his first senior outing for the Blues.

"Right before the game yesterday, the day before - I knew there would be an opportunity to get some minutes for the first time with the first team," he began in an interview after the game. "To get a debut like that is mind blowing. I couldn't believe it myself - but that's just the beginning, I've got a big career ahead of me. It was a great debut.

"I couldn't be happier right now, being my first senior debut, you have to expect everything to go well, the intensity, the level of players, everything goes up and you have to be able to match it and cope with it, and I think I did well with that.

"Coming from the 21's to first-team training, that's a big jump - the sessions are more tiring, you have to run more - they demand more of you and you have to cope with it.

"I spoke to all of them [the first team players], they've all been brilliant with me - before the game, giving me advice - play your game, be you - those words gave me confidence and helped me score those two goals today."

The victory sees us move into the fourth round of the competition, where we will host fellow Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion .

But immediate attention turns to the top-flight as we host Sunderland and Samba is eager to keep the momentum going with more first team minutes.

"I can't wait. Recover now, rest, the team goes again," he continued. "Training tomorrow and then Sunderland on the weekend.

"Everyone has to be prepared for that."