Manchester City are in a period of transition, requiring the new and the old to avoid an FA Cup shock at the hands of Plymouth Argyle. The academy graduate Nico O’Reilly scored two headers before the club’s most-decorated outfield player, Kevin De Bruyne, ended the resistance.
Plymouth could not have done more as they fought to contain City, even taking a shock lead through Maksym Talovierov but a happy ending never looked likely. The Premier League champions were made to toil by the well-drilled Pilgrims, who will rue conceding from two set pieces.
De Bruyne’s contract is up in the summer and the FA Cup provides perhaps the best opportunity, amid a difficult campaign, to add to the 16 winner’s medals he has earned in Manchester City, though he is line to bow out at the Club World Cup. Paired with Ilkay Gündogan to provide experience in the middle of the park, the Belgian showed he still possesses the quality with delivery and offered constant endeavour even though he has physically diminished.
Pep Guardiola’s side did not reach their optimum tempo, hindered by an extremely well-disciplined side. Plymouth made it this far thanks to a 1-0 win over Premier League leaders Liverpool. On that afternoon they had a mere 25% possession and in the early stages reaching that milestone would be seen as a success. City controlled proceedings, passing the ball with precision in front of a green wall, doing what it could to keep the hosts at bay.
Few were surprised that Plymouth’s box hosted plenty of action, considering they sit second from bottom in the Championship and have conceded 68 in 34 league matches. Conor Hazard’s first involvement was to get down smartly to save a Gündogan header going towards the bottom corner but the goalkeeper was a spectator as he watched James McAtee’s shot thudded off the inside of a post and away to safety.
Everyone was waiting for City to take the lead as Plymouth rarely crossed the halfway line. Their own players looked somewhat surprised to be rewarded for their hard work when Matthew Sorinola swung a 38th-minute corner to the back post, where Talovierov rose highest to head past Stefan Ortega with what would be Plymouth’s solitary effort on or off target. It was only the third time Argyle had been ahead away from home in all competitions this season. Cue pandemonium from the 7,800 in the away end, able to dream for a few minutes.
Taking the lead might have been ill-advised with so much of the game to play. City equalised in straightforward fashion in first-half injury time to change the dressing-room moods. De Bruyne whipped in a free-kick around 30 yards out, academy graduate O’Reilly made a smart run and flicked to the far post, Hazard got a hand to it but it was not sufficient. The celebrations were more muted on this occasion.
“We can only be disappointed with the result, we are very proud of the performance,” Plymouth’s head coach, Miron Muslic, said. “We gave Manchester City a proper game. They are one of the best teams in the world with the best coach in the world. We did well, it is a bit of a pity we conceded with the final touch of the first half.”
It might not have been a full panic but Erling Haaland was brought off the bench before the hour mark. The Norwegian and Bernardo Silva contrived to not convert chances in quick succession from inside the six-yard box as Hazard produced a number of fine saves to keep the score level. Unfortunately for the goalkeeper, the resulting corner found makeshift left-back O’Reilly at the back post from where he nodded home his second, calming the nerves of the majority. O’Reilly attracted interest from Chelsea in the winter transfer window and Guardiola’s decision to keep him is being rewarded.
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“Sometimes you make good decisions,” Guardiola said of not selling O’Reilly. “Otherwise, he would not have scored two goals today. He’s not a typical player for the academy because all the players are small, skilful and good talent. But he has a big presence. Normally he’s an attacking midfielder, he’s a No 10. He’s another threat for our set pieces because we are not a tall team. He plays really well with the ball, without the ball and helps us with two fantastic goals.”
Nathan Aké, meanwhile, had to be replaced at half-time by Rúben Dias because of injury and Guardiola intimated that the Dutchman would face a spell on the sidelines.
With stamina diminished, Plymouth had little to offer and the search for an equaliser never began, comprehensively ended by De Bruyne’s late third. City still have a chance of silverware this season but they were made to labour to keep the opportunity alive.
Source: theguardian.com
