Manchester City 2 Leyton Orient 1: City player ratings as Leyton Orient make City fight for their victory | OneFootball

Manchester City 2 (Abdukodir Khusanov 56′, Kevin De Bruyne 79′)

Leyton Orient 1 (Stefan Ortega (OG) 16′)

Here are the City player ratings as Manchester City beat Leyton Orient 2-1 to progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup. Pep Guardiola handed debuts to Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzàlez and the pair got a tough introduction to what English football is all about at the Gaughan Group Stadium. There was no standout Manchester City player during the game and the City player ratings reflect this.

First half

Leyton Orient made a lively start to the match as they looked to get over the back of Manchester City’s high defensive line. They caused several moments of nervousness in City’s defence in the game’s opening stages.

The first chance of the game came in the 9th minute and it fell Manchester City’s way. A sublime ball from Nico Gonzàlez played in Savinho who squared the ball across goal to Ilkay Gundogan. But Gundogan’s shot went wide when it did appear easier to score.

Leyton Orient had their first chance of the game in the 13th minute. Another long ball over the top of City’s defence played in Charlie Kelman. Kelman had too much strength for Vitor Reis, but his shot was saved by Stefan Ortega. But it was a warning shot fired across the bow of Pep Guardiola’s side.

Leyton Orient takes the lead after a moment of brilliance.

Leyton Orient would take the lead in the 16th minute. Nico Gonzàlez was dispossessed in midfield and Jamie Donley spotted Stefan Ortega off his line. His long-range effort hit the crossbar and went into the back of the net off of Stefan Ortega. The goal went down as an Ortega own goal but Donley deserves all the credit in the world for his brilliant strike and ingenuity.

Nico Gonzàlez had to be substituted in the 20th minute after he appeared to pick up a hip injury in the challenge that led to Leyton Orient’s goal. That news about sums up City’s start to the game and season.

Bernardo Silva had a shot cleared off the line by Jamie Donley in the 37th minute after a quality cross from Jack Grealish. It was City’s best chance of the first half since Gundogan’s miss but they were struggling to break down Leyton Orient’s defence.

Josh Keeley made a superb save in the 48th minute to deny Omar Marmoush his first goal for Manchester City. A sumptuous ball from Savinho set up Marmoush, whose shot on the stretch was well saved by Keeley.

Leyton Orient would take a 1-nil lead into halftime. In truth, they were good value for their lead and Manchester City had been poor.

Second half

The second half kicked off with Manchester City needing to up their level of play. Their first chance of the second half fell to Omar Marmoush in the 47th minute but his weak shot was easily saved by Josh Keeley.

Manchester City’s sustained spell of pressure results in an equaliser.

Manchester City had upped the ante after halftime. In the 55th minute, Omar Marmoush saw a shot well saved by Josh Keeley behind for a corner, who was in inspired form for Leyton Orient. From the resulting corner Manchester City played it short. The ball was worked to Rico Lewis, who fired in a shot from 25 yards, and it deflected in off of Abdukodir Khusanov to make it 1-all. Khusanov had scored his first goal for Manchester City but he wouldn’t have known a lot about it.

In the 62nd minute, James McAtee fired wide from a good position after some neat play from Pep Guardiola’s side. But you do have to question why Manchester City didn’t earn a penalty for a rash challenge on Omar Marmoush in the build-up. Minutes later Ilkay Gundogan saw a shot well saved once again by Keeley from the edge of the area. City were upping the ante, although Leyton Orient were also having their moments.

Charlie Kelman saw a shot from the edge of the area by Stefan Ortega in the 76th minute. Kevin De Bruyne was dispossessed in midfield which resulted in the chance being created for Kelman.

Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish combine to give Manchester City the lead late on.

In the 79th minute, Manchester City would take the lead. A sublime ball with the outside of his foot from Jack Grealish played in Kevin De Bruyne. His deft finish beat Josh Keeley in the Leyton Orient goal to give Manchester City the lead. It was a sublime goal and Grealish set it up with a sumptuous ball.

Darren Pratley fired over for Leyton Orient in the 87th minute after a goal-mouth scramble fell his way from a long throw. To the host’s credit, they weren’t throwing in the towel as they pushed for an equaliser.

Leyton Orient almost had an equaliser in the 90th minute. A free kick from a dangerous area found Daniel Happe at the back post. But he fired over from close range with the goal gaping.

Manchester City successfully navigated the game’s final stages to earn a hard-fought 2-1 win. Leyton Orient deserve all the credit in the world for their performance as they made it a tough afternoon for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Summary

The City player ratings reflect how Manchester City performed at the Gaughan Group Stadium. No City player particularly stood out, but in the end, their class was the difference between the two teams.

City player ratings

Stefan Ortega-6/10: He made a couple of good saves, but he doesn’t look to be confident in possession.

Rico Lewis- 7.5/10: Lewis was almost City’s best player over the full 90 minutes. Did his job well and grabbed an assist for City’s equaliser.

Vitor Reis-6/10: Made a nervy start but grew into it after that. You can see why City were so eager to sign him although he isn’t physically strong enough just yet.

Ruben Dias-6/10: Got through 45 minutes as he builds up his fitness.

Nico O’Reilly-6.5/10: He was a lot better in the second half than the first. O’Reilly grew into the game before he was substituted.

Nico Gonzàlez-5/10: Was dispossessed in midfield for Leyton Orient’s opening goal. Picked up an injury in that challenge and had to be substituted after 20 minutes. His ball to play in Savinho in the 9th minute was Rodri-esque.

Ilkay Gundogan-5/10: His miss in the 9th minute summed up his day. Had his moments but didn’t take them.

James McAtee-5/10: Was barely sighted in the first half but he did show more in the second half. But overall a disappointing performance from McAtee.

Savinho-7/10: Easily Manchester City’s best player in the first half. He faded out of the game in the second half but that was more because most of City’s attacking play was down their left-hand side rather than anything Savinho did wrong.

Jack Grealish-7.5/10: His second-half performance was a lot better than his first. Set up De Bruyne’s winner and was lively in the second half.

Omar Marmoush-6.5/10: He has two chances well saved by Josh Keeley. But he toiled away over the entire 90 minutes and did his job well.

Substitutes

Bernardo Silva-7/10: Did what he hahado do after coming on for Nico Gonzàlez. Finished the game at left-back as he did everything his team needed him to do.

Abdukodir Khusanov-8/10: Khusanov was defensively solid when he came in at halftime. He put in some strong challenges and was good on the ball. Also had a crucial block early in the second half. Scored his first goal for Manchester City to equalise but showed plenty today.

John Stones-6/10: Did what he had to do after coming on at halftime.

Kevin De Bruyne-7/10: Scored the winner and his attacking runs helped open up the Leyton Orient defence.

Phil Foden-6/10: He has some nice touches after coming on to win the game for his team.