Manchester City‘s teenage starlet Nico O’Reilly was at the double as the Sky Blues secured a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals courtesy of a 3-1 comeback win over a spirited Plymouth Argyle side at the Etihad Stadium.
After absorbing copious amounts of Citizens pressure, Miron Muslic‘s men made a rare foray into the hosts’ third and silenced the Etihad through Maksym Talovierov‘s header from a sumptuous corner.
Pep Guardiola‘s men flexed their own dead-ball muscles to level through O’Reilly just before the half-time whistle blew, though, and it did not take long for Guardiola to press the Erling Haaland button in the second 45.
However, rather than the Scandinavian sensation coming to Man City’s rescue, O’Reilly make sky blue lightning strike twice with another header in the second half to complete the turnaround, before Kevin De Bruyne extinguished any doubt.
City join Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Preston North End and Crystal Palace as the fifth club to book their place in the last eight, as the final three ties – Newcastle United vs. Brighton & Hove Albion, Manchester United vs. Fulham and Nottingham Forest vs. Ipswich Town – conclude over the next two days.
SPORTS MOLE’S VERDICT
© Imago
Performances matter little in knockout football so long as your name is in the pot for the next round of the draw, and as far as Man City are concerned, Saturday’s game should not live long in the memory.
Even with a second-string side, Guardiola still had the enviable expertise of De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish on the pitch, but the age of City’s long-serving champions was showing once again.
Some nice touches from Grealish meant little as City initially struggled to carve open the Argyle defence before their set-piece failings reared their ugly heads, but the comeback was always inevitable.
However, the smile on Muslic’s face as he applauded the fervent away fans said it all at full time – he knew his side had given it an excellent go at the home of the Premier League champions.
The Argyle might now turn their attention back to their Championship demotion dogfight, but taking down Brentford and Liverpool before going 1-0 up at the Etihad represents one terrific FA Cup run.
MAN CITY VS. PLYMOUTH HIGHLIGHTS
Maksym Talovierov goal vs. Man City (38th min, Man City 0-1 Plymouth)
🟢 PLYMOUTH LEAD AT THE ETIHAD! 🟢
Maksym Talovierov with a towering header 💥#ITVFootball | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/vTxjEDehbd
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 1, 2025
A towering man with blonde hair and a ponytail scores at the Etihad, but it is not Haaland!
The Argyle have largely been camped in their own half in the first half, but they prove deadly from the corner flag, as Talovierov meets Matthew Sorinola‘s inswinging cross and rises highest to head home into the bottom corner.
Stefan Ortega could only stand and watch Taloverov’s pinpoint aerial effort nestle into the back of the net, and the Green Army are going barmy!
Nico O’Reilly goal vs. Plymouth (45+1 min, Man City 1-1 Plymouth)
CITY ARE BACK LEVEL! ⚽️
Nico O’Reilly finishes a wonderful delivery from De Bruyne ✨#ITVFootball | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/dpNFdxnl3r
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 1, 2025
Plymouth are served a dose of their own set-piece medicine!
The Premier League champions draw level just before the break, as De Bruyne’s cute outswinging free kick from the right is met by O’Reilly, who gets across his man and powers a header across goal.
Conor Hazard gets a hand to his effort, but there is simply too much venom on O’Reilly’s header, and the ball trickles over the line.
Nico O’Reilly goal vs. Plymouth (76th min, Man City 2-1 Plymouth)
Nico O’Reilly at the DOUBLE! ⚽️⚽️
The Green Army’s resistance is finally broken!#ITVFootball | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/TlhqTTllzU
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 1, 2025
I think this is what they call deja vu! City have been huffing and puffing throughout the second half, and just after Haaland shot straight at Hazard from point-blank range, O’Reilly repeats his first-half trick with a back-post header from a corner.
Plymouth have two complaints, firstly protesting that the corner was not a corner and that O’Reilly illegally pushed Jordan Houghton out of the way, but Craig Pawson is unmoved.
Kevin De Bruyne goal vs. Plymouth (90th min, Man City 3-1 Plymouth)
Game. Set. Match.
Haaland tees up De Bruyne to send City through to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup 🏆#ITVFootball | #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/DCBaJj9ruQ
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) March 1, 2025
City twist the dagger in the hearts of Argyle!
Haaland is clean through on goal but can only shoot straight at Hazard, although the rebound falls back at his feet and he squares for De Bruyne to tap home a simple third.
MAN OF THE MATCH – NICO O’REILLY
© Imago
A word of merit for Plymouth shot-stopper Hazard and his steadfast backline, but O’Reilly rose to the challenge, quite literally as he demonstrated terrific movement inside the box to score his first Citizens double.
A true clinic in how to be clinical, the teenager scored with his only two efforts on target and also completed 89% of his passes from his left-back position.
MAN CITY VS. PLYMOUTH MATCH STATS
Possession: Man City 73%-27% Plymouth
Shots: Man City 29-1 Plymouth
Shots on target: Man City 9-1 Plymouth
Corners: Man City 20-1 Plymouth
Fouls: Man City 5-7 Plymouth
BEST STATS
Phil Foden in FA Cup:
21 G/A
19 Starts pic.twitter.com/lLltcCdw1Z
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) March 1, 2025
Most assists in FA Cup:
17 — Kevin De Bruyne
16
15
14
13
12
11 — Son Heung-Min, Raheem Sterling pic.twitter.com/ZDWMarRmVX
— StatMuse FC (@statmusefc) March 1, 2025
WHAT NEXT?
With no Champions League last-16 commitments to worry about this week, Man City have the luxury of a full seven-day break before facing Nottingham Forest at the City Ground next Saturday lunchtime.
However, Plymouth only have a two-day rest before a trip to Hull City in the Championship on Tuesday, and their fight against the drop then continues at home to Sheffield Wednesday on March 8.
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