Manchester City look to have been dealt another defensive injury blow after Nathan Ake came off in the 3-1 FA Cup win over Plymouth.
Ake was substituted at half-time in the fifth-round tie at the Etihad Stadium, being replaced by Ruben Dias.
And City boss Pep Guardiola, who has the likes of John Stones and Manuel Akanji on the sidelines, said in his post-match press conference: “Now again we have central defenders out. I think we are going to miss Nathan.
“I’m so grateful and thankful to the club for bringing (January signings Abdukodir) Khusanov and Vitor (Reis), otherwise we would not have any chance to qualify for the Champions League next season or fight for the FA Cup – impossible. We would have just Ruben.
“That’s why it is a miracle they are here to help us, because it happened all season, with the problems we had and still we have.”
The FA Cup represents a final chance for City – who have fallen 20 points adrift of leaders Liverpool in the Premier League and exited the Champions League in the play-off for the last 16 – to secure silverware in their disappointing season.
They advanced to the quarter-finals after coming from behind to defeat Championship strugglers Plymouth, the shock victors over Liverpool and Brentford in the previous two rounds.
Argyle threatened another upset as they went in front via Maksym Talovierov’s 38th-minute header.
46. CITY SUB | Ruben is on for the second period 🔄
🩵 1-1 🟢 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/G8eGFAlf7j
— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 1, 2025
The lead lasted until first half stoppage time when Nico O’Reilly headed home, and the 19-year-old subsequently added another header in the 76th minute as City’s pressure eventually told, with Kevin De Bruyne then sealing the hosts a place in the last eight with a close-range finish late on.
Guardiola, who made 11 changes for the tie, said: “I don’t take for granted the difficulty when you play an incredibly organised team.
“It’s not a surprise what they have done against Liverpool. It’s difficult to challenge them because they are incredibly organised defensively.
“I don’t take for granted how good we have done many, many things. I have the feeling that every step is getting better. Many good things happened. Jack (Grealish), Vitor played really good, and all of them, Nico. We had a lot of possession with patience.
“I don’t know how many chances or shots (we had), maybe not on target due to the ball – the ball is difficult to bring where you want because sometimes this type of ball does whatever it wants.
“But really, really pleased with the performance, to be again in the quarter-finals.
“It has been a difficult year, we have not been good, it (winning the FA Cup) will not change that the season was not good. The season has not been good, but we can do it good for the future.
“The mood is good, I think the team is playing the last month much better. Against Liverpool we played really good, and against Chelsea. Against Real Madrid (when they were knocked out of the Champions League) forget about it.
MAXIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 🤯
Maksym Talovierov heads in to give @Argyle the lead over Manchester City 😮
Just look at the limbs in the away end 💚#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/i7wLGKsvKh
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 1, 2025
“But step by step I see good things. Everybody is connected and we are going into the battle for the last 11 games to be in the Champions League next season.”
Plymouth boss Miron Muslic was full of pride at what he had seen from his team, who are second bottom in the Championship.
“I think we can only be disappointed with the result, but very proud of the performance,” he said.
“I think we gave Manchester City a proper game. It’s one of the best teams in the world, coached by the best coach in this sport.
“We tried everything, we gave Manchester City a task and a big challenge, and I’m very proud of this.”
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