A brace from Nico O'Reilly helped Manchester City come from behind to earn a 3-1 victory over Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday evening.
Brentford made six changes to face Plymouth before bowing out in the third round, while Arne Slot rotated ten of his regulars for Liverpool's shock exit last month. Pep Guardiola changed all 11 players compared to the midweek win over Tottenham Hotspur and threatened to suffer the same ignominious fate against this year's FA Cup giant slayers.
After weathering an early onslaught from the out-of-sorts hosts, Plymouth took the lead through Maksym Talovierov's 38th-minute header. The goal was like a bolt of lightning from a cloudless sky. Argyle had failed to win a corner, let alone take a shot, before Talovierov made the most of the visitors' first set piece.
A dead ball helped City haul themselves back into the contest on the cusp of half-time. O'Reilly wandered to the front of a queue of green shirts, nodding Kevin De Bruyne's wide free-kick through Conor Hazard's slack glove.
City continued to plough forward after the break, with the incoming Erling Haaland adding to the mounting number of missed chances. It took another header from O'Reilly, peeling towards to the back post at a 76th-minute corner, for City to belatedly limp in front.
De Bruyne added a layer of gloss to the scoreline in the 90th minute which will mask Plymouth's heroics, but no one and nothing can take away the memories of their masterful cup run this season.
Man City player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Player | Rating |
|---|---|
GK: Stefan Ortega | 6.5/10 |
RB: Rico Lewis | 7.2/10 |
CB: Vitor Reis | 7.9/10 |
CB: Nathan Ake | 6.9/10 |
LB: Nico O'Reilly | 8.9/10 |
CM: Ilkay Gundogan | 7.9/10 |
CM: Bernardo Silva | 7.9/10 |
AM: Kevin De Bruyne | 8.9/10 |
RW: James McAtee | 6.9/10 |
ST: Phil Foden | 8.3/10 |
LW: Jack Grealish | 8.3/10 |
SUB: Ruben Dias (46' for Aje) | 6.9/10 |
SUB: Erling Haaland (59' for McAtee) | 7.0/10 |
SUB: Nico Gonzalez (83' for Foden) | N/A |
Subs not used: Ederson (GK), Josko Gvardiol, Matheus Nunes, Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush, Savinho.
Plymouth player ratings (3-4-3)
Player | Ratings |
|---|---|
GK: Conor Hazard | 7.1/10 |
CB: Maksym Talovierov | 7.3/10 |
CB: Julio Pleguezuelo | 6.0/10 |
CB: Nikola Katic | 5.5/10 |
RWB: Bali Mumba | 6.2/10 |
CM: Darko Gyabi | 6.5/10 |
CM: Malachi Boateng | 6.3/10 |
LWB: Nathanael Ogbeta | 5.9/10 |
RW: Matthew Sorinola | 7.6/10 |
ST: Mustapha Bundu | 6.7/10 |
LW: Callum Wright | 6.4/10 |
SUB: Jordan Houghton (64' for Gyabi) | 6.3/10 |
SUB: Rami Al Hajj (64' for Mumba) | 5.9/10 |
SUB: Michael Baidoo (64' for Bundu) | 5.8/10 |
SUB: Tymoteusz Puchacz (71' for Ogbeta) | 5.9/10 |
SUB: Kornel Szucs (80' for Sorinola) | 6.0/10 |
Subs not used: Daniel Grimshaw (GK), Joe Edwards, Victor Palsson, Caleb Roberts.
Player of the match - Nico O'Reilly (Man City)
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