JAKARTA - Manchester City were forced to work hard when they eliminated the Championship team Plymouth Argyle in the fifth round of the FA Cup. In a duel at home at the Etihad Stadium, Sunday, March 2, 2025 in the morning WIB, Man City won 3-1 and qualified for the quarter-finals. The FA Cup was Man City's last hope to win the trophy.
Man Cty has failed in the Champions League and Carabao Cup. In the English Premier League competition, Man City no longer focused on defending the title because their points were far behind Liverpool who were at the top of the standings.
Liverpool, who have 67 points, are already 20 points ahead with Man City who are still trying to find a place in the Champions League zone. If they fail to enter the top four, The Cityzens will definitely miss Europe's highest caste competition.
The FA Cup is Man City's last hope for a trophy. Only, Guardiola's team had to struggle to get rid of Plymouth who played in the Championship Division. Even Plymouth is actually struggling to get out of relegation if he doesn't want to go down to League One or the third division of the Premier League.
However, the opposing team surprised Man City who fielded the second-tier player by scoring first. But they finally got up and turned things around while keeping the hope of winning trophies this season.
"We know how important this match is. We have to keep fighting and see what happens," said Guardiola.
Meanwhile, young player Nico O'hali said he was satisfied because the two goals he scored helped Man City win. The team had difficulties until he finally broke the deadlock that equalized the score.
"To be able to score two goals that turn things around is beyond expectations. It must be admitted that we are 1-0 behind, we are having a hard time. But after scoring the first goal, we are excited again," said O'Registration.
On the other hand, Plymouth manager Miron Muslic admitted that he was disappointed even though he was satisfied with the performance of the players. Muslic felt proud that his team was able to trouble the elite English Premier League team who played at home.
"We can only be disappointed with the result of the match, but we are proud of the team's performance," said Muslic, who replaced Wayne Rooney.
"We deserved to take the lead first because we could take advantage of the opportunity. But we ended up conceding. However, we have tried until the end of the match," he said.
In that match, Man City had difficulty facing Plymouth's decisive game. Despite playing in second division, they made a surprise by getting rid of Liverpool in the previous round.
Even the visitors surprised the host's fans when Maksym Talovierov defeated goalkeeper Stefan Ortega who replaced Ederson in the 38th minute. The goal made Plymouth fans joy.
But their advantage did not last long. Man City managed to equalize the score after O'Banny who finished the assist Kevin De Bruyne broke into the opponent's goal. The score changed 1-1 and lasted until the first half was over.
In the second half, Man City played better. They controlled the game and pressed Plymouth's defense. However, they had to wait until the 76th minute.
O'kelih scored a brace after his header which met Phil Foden's mature pass changed the score to 2-1.
Furthermore, De Bruyne solidified Man City's advantage. Welcoming a pass from striker Erling Haaland who entered in the second half, De Bruyne then broke into the opponent's goal. The score is 3-1 for Man City who survives until the match is over.
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