Pep Guardiola's love affair with the FA Cup continues - but only after his Premier League champions were given an almighty scare.
Two goals from Manchester-born teenager Nico O’Reilly and an injury-time strike by Kevin De Bruyne sent the Blues through to the quarter-finals after powerhouse Ukrainian defender Maksym Talovierov had headed Miron Muslic’s Championship battlers into a shock lead at the Etihad. Plymouth took Liverpool’s scalp in the last round - and for a few first-half minutes they had the four-in-a-row champions rocking.
In the end, City just had too much quality for the men from the West Coast. But they had to bring on Erling Haaland for the last half-hour to help force the issue as the visitors fought for everything.
In an era when some of the country’s top clubs have been accused of not taking the oldest competition of them all seriously, that isn’t true of Guardiola. City have lifted the trophy twice in his eight years in England - and last season they became the first club in Cup history to reach six consecutive semi-finals.
Now after a torrid campaign in the Premier League and Champions League, it remains his only hope of picking up some silverware. O’Reilly, a goalscorer in the 8-0 romp over Salford in round three, is a 19-year-old midfielder of rich promise.
After being asked to step in at left-back, he demonstrated his threat from set-pieces with two muscular headed goals. More than 7,500 Plymouth fans made the 300-mile pilgrimage to Manchester to see their team play in the fifth round for only the third time in their history.
They could have brought more, with City opting to refund money to 250 fans based in Devon who had purchased tickets after joining their loyalty scheme. The Green Army, packed into the top two tiers of the South Stand, certainly made themselves heard.
Guardiola’s team was hardly at full-strength but still included Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, while Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush were lurking on an impressive bench. City, faced with a 10-man green-shirted blockade, dominated from the first whistle without really getting deep into Plymouth territory.
Foden had a shot deflected behind and Ilkay Gundogan sent a weak header straight at keeper Conor Hazard before shuddering the post with a half-volley. But while Plymouth hardly got out of their own half, their supporters still enjoyed chanting a round of ‘oles’ when Miron Muslic's side started stringing a few passes together.
They were also successful in their mission to be first to any loose ball. City produced the first eight shots of the tie and forced the first eight corners. Then, in the 38th minute, one of those moments of Cup magic.
Matthew Sorinola planted a corner from the right inti the heart of City’s six-yard box and Talovierov leapt unopposed to to float a header into the corner. As Liverpool discovered in the last round, Plymouth love it when they have got something to defend.
Hazard, outstanding against Liverpool, produced a brilliant save to deny De Bruyne. But the home team were level in first-half injury-time when Nico O’Reilly’s header from De Bruyne’s whipped free-kick carried too much power for the visitors’ keeper.
Hazard started the second half by blocking Bernardo Silva’s poor close-range shot and Rico Lewis was a foot too high with an acrobatic volley. Just before the hour, Guardiola called for Haaland.
It took him eight minutes to get his first touch and he should have scored, leaning back to blaze over from eight yards from a Foden miskick. Foden fired just wide and Hazard went full stretch to palm over a wicked De Bruyne delivery that as destined for the top corner.
Plymouth were starting to tire but they were hanging on grimly and Muslic made four changes in quick succession in a bid to add some energy to his flagging team. Haaland was denied by a brilliant Hazard save and Silva saw his follow-up deflected behind when it seemed couldn’t miss in the 76th minute.
But Foden’s corner found O’Reilly shrugging off substitute Tymoteusz Puchacz to head home. Plymouth complained that Puchacz had been fouled but the Polish defender just wasn’t strong enough.
De Bruyne killed the tie in the last minute when he arrived to steer home Haaland's cross after the Norwegian had once again be denied by Hazard.
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