Manchester City were apparently ravaged by Covid with 21 players and staff out and, it would have been dreamt, were maybe there for the taking against League Two Swindon who sensed a big night but feared a big score.

The magic of the FA Cup to kick off the third round? Not on this occasion. City exposed it as smoke and mirrors as they turned up with a team that could easily – the prodigiously impressive young talent of Cole Palmer and reserve goalkeeper Zack Steffen apart – be fielded in a Champions League Final never mind a trip to the County Ground on a cold January night. It did not feel fair and consequently it was no contest even if Swindon performed bravely and eventually got their reward with a fine goal.

Pep Guardiola was one of those isolating, along with seven players, but he was not taking it easy and was in touch before the game and at half-time. He has won this cup just once with City and he is clearly going for it again. It does not matter if they are playing Liverpool, Chelsea or Bayern Munich, they take the same approach.

Little over six months ago Swindon were in disarray: relegation from League One, just six players on the books and staff unpaid. So in itself this plum tie felt like a reward for the new ownership, and new head coach Ben Garner, and there was a lap of honour from the players as they finished their warm-up – and they deserved another at the end. “Make some noise for the best in the West,” screamed the stadium announcer and there was certainly an air of frenzy – following a gulp of apprehension when the City team-sheet was delivered – as the teams emerged.

“The most important thing was that it was for the supporters who have been through a tough time,” Garner later said. “It was about them, watching us against the Premier League champions.” They acquitted themselves so well.

The chant of “who the f—ing hell are you?” from the Swindon fans to the large wedge of City supporters gave them some delight and it could have been so much more when, early on, Jordan Lyden flung himself and only narrowly failed to connect with a cross. Could that have been the moment?

There were some kids selected by City, led by Guardiola’s assistant Rodolfo Borrell, but the problem was that apart from Palmer they were all on the bench. This was a stellar line-up; a Premier League line-up; a ‘put the fear of God into you’ line-up. Certainly, there was no messing about. And it was the 19-year-old who fashioned the opening goal. Palmer did not so much put it on a plate for Bernardo Silva as spoon-fed the ‘false nine’ as he dribbled his way through, centred low and delivered a tap-in.

“Great quality,” Borrell said of Palmer who would go on to wrap up the scoring. “Hopefully very soon he can play more games with us like Phil Foden a couple of years ago. They are completely different players. Phil Foden has had more opportunities and he is establishing. Cole has the talent and ingredients.”