The veteran Belgian served up two headed goals for the teenage apprentice and then scored himself to end hopes of a third giant-killing for Argyle
Manchester City overcame an FA Cup scare against plucky and wily Plymouth Argyle to win 3-1 thanks to the master Kevin De Bruyne and the apprentice Nico O'Reilly in a tale of three set pieces.
Plymouth centre-back Makysm 'Maxi' Talovyerov stunned the Etihad when he gave the visitors the lead in the fifth round tie with a towering header from a corner while the 19-year-old O'Reilly nodded City level on the stroke of half-time from a De Bruyne free-kick. The pair repeated their double act, this time from a corner, to put Pep Guardiola's side in front in the 76th minute and they never looked back, with De Bruyne sliding in to score a late third to ensure City made it into the FA Cup quarter-finals for the eighth time in nine seasons.
It was City's first game against Argyle since 1989. The visitors are second bottom of the Championship, 39 places below City, but have been experiencing a big resurgence since Wayne Rooney was sacked as coach at the end of 2024 and replaced by Miron Muslic. They pulled off two Cup shocks by winning away at Brentford in the third round and knocking out Liverpool in the fourth round.
Plymouth survived an early onslaught which included Ilkay Gundogan hitting the woodwork and then scored with their first corner and first attempt. Talovyerov – who bears some resemblance to Erling Haaland – climbed high to head home and send the 8,000 fans who had made the 280-mile journey from the south west coast to Manchester into dreamland.
City managed to equalise right on half-time when O'Reilly glanced a De Bruyne free-kick under Conor Hazard to score. The hosts utterly dominated the second half and it was as though there was an invisible force shield around the Plymouth goal as Rico Lewis, substitute Haaland, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva all missed good chances to score.
It fell again to De Bruyne and O'Reilly to finally put City ahead while De Bruyne added an extra shine to his individual performance by scoring in added time. It was his 29th FA Cup goal involvement, more than any player since his competition debut in 2016.
GOAL rates Man City's players from the Etihad Stadium…
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Stefan Ortega (5/10):
Had a pretty quiet afternoon, facing just one shot.
Vitor Reis (7/10):
A solid display, looking far more comfortable than in his previous FA Cup outing at Leyton Orient. Dealt with much of the visitors' aerial threat and was comfortable in possession.
Nathan Ake (5/10):
Should have commanded the area better when Plymouth struck and then his game ended prematurely with yet another injury scare as he was removed at the break.
Nico O'Reilly (8/10):
Unexpectedly took centre stage with two impressive headers, making it three goals in as many FA Cup games.
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Bernardo Silva (5/10):
Gave a tired performance out on the right flank and should have buried his chance in the second half.
Rico Lewis (5/10):
Missed two sitters in quick succession as he got forward a lot, effectively playing in midfield throughout as City had to do so little defending.
Kevin De Bruyne (8/10):
The perfect game for him to show his class. Was at the heart of City's best moves and had his prints on all of the goals. Enough said.
Ilkay Gundogan (5/10):
Controlled the game from deep, benefitting from an opponent that only wanted to defend. Unlucky not to score when he struck the inside of the post.
Jack Grealish (6/10):
Hugged the touchline and orchestrated several City moves down the left but ultimately had no end product.
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James McAtee (4/10):
A bad day at the office. Lost Talovyerov for the goal and didn't cause enough danger in attack as the most advanced midfielder. Couldn't complain when taken off for Haaland just before the hour mark.
Phil Foden (5/10):
Another uninspiring display although wasn't helped by the unorthodox shape of the attack. Still, he should have contributed more given the quality of the opponents.
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Ruben Dias (5/10):
Gave City more authority at the back and they never looked in trouble when he was on the pitch.
Erling Haaland (6/10):
Gave the team a bigger presence in attack and a much-needed focal point. His finishing was blunt, missing two decent chances, but he made amends by setting up De Bruyne.
Nico Gonzalez (N/A):
A late addition from the bench, it going slightly better than his first Cup outing at Orient.
Pep Guardiola (5/10):
His starting line-up was strange and the decision to play no centre-forward backfired as no-one seemed sure who was supposed to be the lead man. Got away with it and corrected himself by bringing on Haaland.
