Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne. Photo: Photosport
Manchester City survived an FA Cup scare for the second straight game as they beat second-tier strugglers Plymouth Argyle 3-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
Teenager Nico O'Reilly saved City's blushes with two headed goals after Maksym Talovierov had sent thousands of visiting fans into delirium by heading Plymouth into the lead.
Plymouth were unable to emulate their shock victory over Premier League leaders Liverpool in the fourth round and City will now be big favourites to win the Cup for the third time under Pep Guardiola.
City also had to come from behind to beat third-tier Leyton Orient in the previous round.
O'Reilly headed home a Kevin de Bruyne cross in first-half stoppage time and City laid siege to Plymouth's goal in the second period before O'Reilly again was in the right place to head De Bruyne's corner into the net in the 76th minute.
"Two goals from left back, I wasn't really expecting that," 19-year-old O'Reilly, who also scored in the 8-0 win over Salford City in the third round, told the BBC.
"Going into halftime 1-0 down would have been tough but (the first goal) lifted the spirits."
De Bruyne rounded off an impressive display by making absolutely sure of City's progress in the final minute with a tap-in after Erling Haaland had been denied.
The FA Cup is Premier League champions City's last chance for silverware this season after stumbling badly in the domestic league and crashing out of the Champions League to Real Madrid.
Plymouth are second-bottom of the Championship but held their own against City with a display every bit as gritty as in their stunning victory over Liverpool.
Eight-minute VAR check
The first weekend of semi-automated offside decisions in English soccer descended into confusion Saturday as Bournemouth had a goal ruled out after a record eight-minute VAR check.
The introduction of the Video Assistant Referee has not been completely smooth in football. Photo: Photosport
Bournemouth, who eventually beat Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on penalties in the FA Cup fifth round after a 1-1 draw, thought they had doubled their lead when defender Milos Kerkez scored in the 35th-minute goal.
However, new technology could not be used because the six-yard area was too crowded and VAR officials had to revert to manually drawing lines before disallowing the goal.
Fellow defender Dean Huijsen was adjudged to have been in an offside position as Kerkez's effort brushed his shoulder before going in to the net.
The VAR check was further complicated as VAR officials Timothy Wood and Darren England also had to also examine the possibility of hand balls prior to the tight offside call.
Both sets of fans voiced their disapproval at the interminable wait, chanting "it's not football any more" and "this is embarrassing".
Referee Sam Barrott, who eventually announced the decision to the crowd via a microphone, had to explain to the respective managers and players what was happening during the delay.
- Reuters
