Manchester City escaped a close contest to defeat giant killers Plymouth 3-1 and move on to the FA Cup quarter finals Saturday as Crystal Palace’s Jean Philippe-Mateta required hospital treatment following his team’s 3-1 victory over Millwall.
After defeating Premier League leaders Liverpool previously Plymouth headed to the Etihad prepared for another remarkable victory until Maksym Talovierov scored against them with 38 minutes remaining.
Miron Muslic stated that facing Pep Guardiola would represent the greatest honour he could experience in his life.
Manchester City’s sole opportunity at winning a trophy this season through FA Cup success prompted Guardiola to make unexpected changes to his lineup, benching Erling Haaland.
One of City’s young players took advantage of his opportunity to excel when Nico O’Reilly changed the direction of the match.
Muslic was angry because the 19-year-old scored both his goals from set-pieces without facing much pressure.
The goal Nico O’Reilly scored right before halftime eased City’s anxiety and he then headed in his second goal from a Phil Foden corner 14 minutes from the end.
Guardiola brought Haaland onto the field from the bench and he set up De Bruyne to score the third goal during stoppage time.
Plymouth deserves praise for making our work harder than expected. Guardiola described Plymouth as highly organised yet praised his team’s performance as good.
The strong defense of Plymouth and the challenges they posed for Liverpool made me realize I couldn’t take anything for granted. They’re an incredibly solid team.
We conceded one goal yet demonstrated strong defensive performance. Nico plays as a large presence and is versatile enough to perform in three or four different positions. I feel very happy for him because he was tremendously helpful to us.
City advanced to the quarter-finals after losing to Manchester United in the previous season’s FA Cup final while aiming for their third Guardiola-era triumph.
How frequently have we reached the semifinals during recent years? Making it to the semifinals six consecutive times demonstrates its significance. Guardiola expressed his pride by stating his love for their success.