Courtesy: Man City
On Saturday, February 8, Manchester City survived a massive scare in the fourth round FA Cup tie against third-tier side Leyton Orient, defeating them 2-1 after going down by a goal in the first half at the Brisbane Road. Upon the arrival of captain Kevin de Bruyne off the bench, defending Premier League champions shifted gears, which led to Abdukodir Khusanov scoring an equaliser, followed by the Belgian’s match-winner just 11 minutes from full-time whistle.
During the first half, Leyton Orient took a surprise lead against the run of play in the 16th-minute when Tottenham loanee Jamie Donley's long-range wonder-strike from around 45 yards out went into the back of the net via the crossbar, beating the stranded Manchester City goal-keeper Stefan Ortega. The hosts managed to keep the lead going into the first half break despite the wave of attacks from Manchester City, signalling a potential upset in the FA Cup tie.
Kevin de Bruyne scored winner for Manchester City off the bench in FA Cup fourth round tie
With their back against the wall, Manchester City came out more determined in attack, and they equalised in the 56th minute as Abdukodir Khusanov deflected Rico Lewis’ shot following a corner. Kevin de Bruyne came on to the pitch with Manchester City still needing to find a winner late on, and he made an immediate impact, putting the ball in the back of the net after being played in by Jack Grealish.
In the latter stages of the FA Cup fourth round tie, Leyton Orient nearly equalised via captain Dan Happe, but he volleyed a great chance over the bar. In the post-match interview, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola assessed the performance of his team, and said, “Outside the first 10 minutes, we played a really good game. It's impossible to control. It's my ninth season in England. I played many times in this incredible competition. The vibe and the smell of the crowd, you don't find it in other competitions.”
“We always behaved good. We were lucky at the end because they had chances but we created a lot of chances. it was a tight game, we knew it but we behaved really well, we reacted with character and it's always nice to be in the next round,” he added.
