Manchester City narrowly avoided a major upset against Plymouth in the FA Cup, securing a hard-fought 3-1 victory after coming from behind.
The match was set at the Etihad Stadium, where City found themselves in danger of becoming the latest high-profile casualty in Plymouth’s remarkable cup run.
Despite Plymouth’s Championship struggles and their position near the relegation zone, they had already shocked top-flight teams, including Liverpool and Brentford, in earlier rounds.
Plymouth took the lead in the 38th minute when Maksym Talovierov rose above the flat-footed City defense to power a header into the far corner from a corner kick, leaving goalkeeper Stefan Ortega with no chance.
City were visibly stunned, and Plymouth’s deep defensive setup continued to frustrate the Premier League giants, who struggled to break them down. Ilkay Gundogan came close with a strike that hit the post, and Jack Grealish’s cross found Gundogan only for his header to be saved by Plymouth goalkeeper Conor Hazard.
However, on the stroke of half-time, City leveled the score through 19-year-old Nico O’Reilly. The midfielder, making just his sixth start for City, met Kevin De Bruyne’s pinpoint free-kick with a glancing header that beat Hazard, despite the keeper getting a hand to it. In the second half, City pushed for the winner, with Pep Guardiola introducing Erling Haaland to add more firepower.
Hazard made a series of remarkable saves to deny Haaland, including one from a close-range effort. But in the 76th minute, O’Reilly’s second goal came in controversial fashion.
He appeared to push Plymouth’s Jordan Houghton before heading in another De Bruyne corner to give City the lead. The decision went unchallenged, and City held on as De Bruyne sealed the win in stoppage time, finishing off a rebound from Haaland’s saved shot.
With the victory, Manchester City advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, where they will hope to claim the trophy for the third time under Guardiola, after being eliminated from both the Champions League and League Cup earlier this season.
