Manchester City needed a late winner from substitute Kevin De Bruyne to beat Leyton Orient 2-1 and reach the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday after the third-tier side threatened to shock the Premier League champions.<\/p>\n
Jamie Donley’s audacious long-range effort that came back off the bar and rebounded in off City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega had given Orient an early lead.<\/p>\n
They maintained that advantage until 56 minutes when Rico Lewis’ shot deflected in off Abdukodir Khusanov for his first Manchester City goal.<\/p>\n
Pep Guardiola had to turn to his bench more than he would have liked just four days before a mammoth Champions League tie against Real Madrid.<\/p>\n
But the introduction of De Bruyne made the difference as he scored the winner 11 minutes from time.<\/p>\n
Guardiola warned on the eve of the match that his side would be made to suffer despite the massive disparity in resources between the clubs.<\/p>\n
City lost to third-tier Wigan in Guardiola’s second season in charge and he was not surprised by Orient’s heroics.<\/p>\n
“Yes, because I know the FA Cup,” said Guardiola on why he expected such a battle. “Since 2018 against Wigan I know.<\/p>\n
“It was a typical FA Cup game, that is why this competition is unbelievable. For the fans, how the crowd support and we knew they are strong.”<\/p>\n
Victory came at a cost for City, though, as new signing Nico Gonzalez hobbled off just 22 minutes into his debut after a \u00a350 million ($62 million) move from Porto.<\/p>\n
By that point, the visitors trailed as Donley spotted Ortega off his line from just over the halfway line.<\/p>\n
His shot was inches away from perfection, but bounced back off Ortega and in as the German ‘keeper scrambled back towards his goal.<\/p>\n
Chances came and went for City to level before the break with Bernardo Silva’s effort cleared off the line.<\/p>\n
City needed some fortune to get back level. Half-time substitute Khusanov knew little about the equalizer as Lewis’ shot hit off the Uzbek to wrong-foot Josh Keeley in the Orient goal.<\/p>\n
Guardiola threw on Phil Foden and De Bruyne in desperate search of a winner and the veteran Belgian duly delivered.<\/p>\n
“I’m disappointed with the last goal but at least it took the big boys to come on and beat us,” said Orient boss Richie Wellens.<\/p>\n
De Bruyne prodded in Jack Grealish’s forward pass to spare City’s blushes from the latest embarrassment of a difficult season.<\/p>\n
Guardiola’s men sit fourth in the Premier League and narrowly avoided a shock early exit from the Champions League in the group stages.<\/p>\n
But they will need to be much improved when the might of Madrid come calling to the Etihad in the Champions League play-off round on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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