O’Reilly at the double to see City past Plymouth

Manchester City F.C.

·1 March 2025

O’Reilly at the double to see City past Plymouth

Nico O’Reilly scored a brace as Manchester City came from behind to beat Plymouth Argyle 3-1 in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The Academy graduate’s two headers, one in each half, ensured Maksym Talovyerov’s opener would not see the Championship strugglers to their third Premier League scalp of the season.

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Captain Kevin De Bruyne rounded off the win by tapping home the third as the game entered stoppage time.

O’Reilly’s performance marked his second and third goals in senior football for City after opening his account against Salford City in January.

The success means we are into the quarter-finals of the historic competition for the seventh successive season.

We’ll discover our opponents in the last eight when the draw is made on Sunday evening.

What happened

Plymouth, buoyed by defeats of Brentford and Liverpool to reach this stage and backed by a large and loud support, set their stall out early.

The side that started this match second bottom of the Championship would sit deep and allow us possession, with striker Mustapha Bundu tasked with running the channels when they got the ball.

Despite playing without a recognised striker, City were ultra-attacking with Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and James McAtee all rotating in the space usually occupied by Erling Haaland.

Jack Grealish and Phil Foden both came close in the opening 10 minutes, before a handball claim against Julio Pleguzuelo from a Bernardo Silva header was turned down.

The evening’s first major opening came the way of Ilkay Gundogan, who breezed into the box and was picked out by Bernardo Silva. However, his header was held by the diving Conor Hazard.

Gundogan was again the beneficiary of a neat move just before the half hour mark, but the former Germany international saw his left-footed effort from 12 yards crash back off the post.

The visitors grew into the game as it wore on, winning throw-ins and corners high up the pitch.

They were soon rewarded when a floated corner was met by the towering defender Maksym Talovyerov to nod home.

All in the Etihad bar the numerous away fans would breathe a sigh of relief just a few minutes later though when Nico O'Reilly levelled the scores on the cusp of half-time.

Our Academy graduate got his head to Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick, glancing it with too much momentum for Hazard to keep out.

It marked O'Reilly's second strike in this season's competition after netting his first senior goal against Salford in January.

With the scores level once more, the second half set off as the first had.

And it wasn't long before Hazard was tested again.

This time a flowing move down the right wing ended with Bernardo having to react quickly to divert the ball at goal, only for Hazard to collapse his knees down to the floor to make the save.

Rico Lewis was the next to go close, unleashing a spectacular volley that didn't quite dip enough to come under the bar.

With the hour approaching and a winner proving elusive, Pep called on Erling Haaland to make the difference.

The Norwegian needed barely 10 minutes on the pitch for his first chance of the day, peeling off at the back post to be in the perfect position to react to Foden's scuffed effort.

He couldn't keep it under the bar but his presence as a focal point of the attack was clearly giving the Plymouth defence more problems.

Haaland was then the target of successive crosses that had Plymouth hanging on, with the first seemingly handballed by substitute Tymoteusz Puchacz and the second stopped incredibly by Hazard.

The resulting corner was instead met by O'Reilly, who headed home for his second of the day to the joy of most inside the Etihad.

Plymouth gave it their all as the clock ticked down, sensing the end of a historic and money-spinning run.

That left gaps in behind for Haaland to exploit and after the Norwegian had one effort saved, he got back up and squared for captain De Bruyne to tap home.

Teams

CITY XI: Ortega Moreno, Lewis, Reis, Ake (Dias 46), O’Reilly, Gundogan, De Bruyne (C), McAtee (Haaland 58), Bernardo, Grealish, Foden (Nico 83)

Subs: Ederson, Marmoush, Doku, Gvardiol, Savinho, Nunes

PLYMOUTH ARGYLE XI: Hazard, Mumba (Houghton 63), Ogbeta (Puchacz 71), Pleguzuelo, Wright, Bundo (Baidoo 63), Gyabi (Al Hajj 63), Boateng, Katic (C), Sorinola, Maxi

Subs: Grimshaw, Szucs, Edwards, Roberts, Palsson

Pep Guardiola reaction

The boss' thoughts will follow shortly...

Man of the match

Nico O'Reilly - The 19-year-old is versatile. You have to be to play for Pep Guardiola.

But before this season, most would have assumed that versatility was limited to midfield roles.

However, our latest Academy graduate is having to take his chance at left-back in this side and doing everything he can to impress.

He's technically brilliant, of course, but it was O'Reilly's physicality and determination that earned him these two goals.

They are traits just as important as talent if you're to grasp your opportunity in this squad.

Vitor’s big day

Of the four signings made in the winter window, Guardiola has given teenage Brazilian Vitor Reis the most time and space to bed into life at City.

Before this, the 19-year-old’s only appearance was at Leyton Orient in the previous round.

A multitude of challenges from strikers big and small await in the years to come, but he’ll be happy with his first Etihad showing here.

Plymouth striker Mustapha Bundu worked hard, but Reis matched him for pace and physicality when required to.

Our No.22 was composed on the ball, decisive in the tackle and strong in the air – plenty of promising signs then.

Academy connections

Seven players across both squads were products of our very own world-class Academy.

Four of those were in Pep Guardiola’s starting XI – Rico Lewis, Nico O’Reilly, James McAtee and Phil Foden.

We know the incredible quality they all have and the level you must reach to compete for game time with the best players in the world.

For that reason, it’s not always possible for talented players to stay at the Club.

So it’s always special to see the likes of Nathaniel Ogbeta, Darko Gyabi and Daniel Grimshaw, who were in today’s Plymouth squad, plying their trade in the EFL.