FA Cup: Manchester City 5 Barnsley 0

A Carlos Tevez hat-trick helped Manchester City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a 5-0 rout of Barnsley on Saturday.

Forty-eight hours after being arrested on suspicion of driving while disqualified, the Argentine showed the gulf between the top of the English Premier League and the lower echelons of the Championship with a fine display.

Tevez clinically dispatched three goals and set up the other two for Aleksandar Kolarov and David Silva.

The 28-year-old’s hat-trick extended his recent goalscoring run to six in four games, lifting him to 15 in total for the season.

Roberto Mancini’s men immediately put the visitors on the back foot at Etihad Stadium and opened the scoring on 11 minutes through Tevez.

Silva’s effort came off the post after a chipped Yaya Toure pass, but Tevez was on hand to sweep home and make it 1-0, giving City the perfect start.

A sustained period of possession led to City’s second and Tevez delivered a perfectly weighted cross for Kolarov to double the home side’s advantage.

Tevez was at it again just after the half-hour mark, turning inside the area before firing home after a Silva cutback.

A brilliant Samir Nasri run set up Tevez for his hat-trick as the Frenchman beat his marker before finding the Argentine in the middle of the area and he finished smartly.

Silva completed the scoring on 65 minutes as City booked their second FA Cup semi-final place in three years and stayed on course for a repeat of their 2011 triumph.

With Wigan Athletic eliminating Everton earlier on Saturday and Manchester United and Chelsea slugging it out on Sunday for a single last-four place, City will be confident of book-ending last year’s Premier League title with a second FA Cup spot in three seasons.